Inquisitorial Rose
by Commander Indrick Boreale
Summary: The World of Remnant was one of Bloody Evolution, and constant, unforgiving battle against the Grimm... But how will one Ruby Rose react when thrown into a Galaxy that Knows Only War, and finds herself in the firm grasp of the Imperium's Inquisition?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So... This is a rather new Angle with the story I'm following. Usually I got something falling into RWBY's world, but this time I'm mixing it up a bit.**

 **DISCLAIMER: Own these universes, I do not. Sue me, their rightful owners Rooster Teeth and Games Workshop shall not.**

* * *

Night had fallen over the dark forests of Lovespea, the dark clouds rolling in overhead with a promise of rain held in them. It wasn't unusual, the world would rain quite heavily most nights, and cast their forests even further into darkness. Common beasts stalked it, being the usual Grox or Crotalid, yet very few dared to tread the surface of the world and face its cold nights and unforgiving weathers.

On most nights, not one person set foot in the forests, lest they be dragged into its depths by a hungering predator hiding in the thick veils of darkness that littered the forest floor. Most preferred the relative safety of their colonies come nightfall.

But this night, deep in the forests, there was one oddball. A lone girl clad in black and red with a crimson cloak who could've been mistaken for a character straight out of a fairy tale, with pale skin, black hair turning red just at the tips and eyes seeming to be pure pools of silver, wandered about. Her name was Ruby Rose, and she honestly had no idea how she had gotten here, or where exactly "here" was. Only last night she knew, she'd gone into her own bed, at her dorm, with her friends, her team, and this morning, she'd waken up in a dark, wet forest, her friends nowhere to be found and left with only her "baby", _Crescent Rose_.

She had idly wandered about for hours now with not the faintest idea where on Remnant she was, annoyed at the twist of fate. Just yesterday, she was fighting Grimm in the middle of the city, and was very tired, and ready for bed come the end of the day. Now, caught in some place totally unknown to her, she had to keep her head on a constant swivel, ready for any kind of Grimm attack from any direction in this dust-forsaken place... but nightfall had revealed three things to her...

One, all her dust-based munitions wouldn't work...

Two, there were no Grimm here...

And Three, she was not on Remnant anymore.

Yesterday, she would've been confused, scared, frustrated possibly, or maybe even infuriated. But right now, she was just tired, and bored. So here she was, cutting down any branch or bush that happened to be in her way, just looking for a way out of this darned forest.

It was about another hour of wandering about that she caught a deep blue-purple light, emanating from maybe a mile or two away to what she assumed was North. She shrugged, before wandering off towards the light...

Not like things could get any worse, right?

* * *

 **Inquisitorial Rose**

* * *

She cursed her luck, of course things could get worse, she just had to jinx herself.

There were braziers on each corner of some sort of raised... temple? She wasn't sure, but the temple was properly blown to bits, razed to the ground and left as only rubble. The braziers held skulls in them, and were decorated with the most unnerving decor she'd ever seen, feeling as though they were gazing at her, laughing. The skulls were aflame in the blue-purple flames. In the center of the rubble, several figures stood, all in dirty, torn robes and rags of blue and purple. They were tattooed, and horribly malformed and mutated, several had their bodies grotesquely fused with their clothing and armors, making Ruby nearly gag at the sight.

They seemed to be performing some sort of ritual, which, normally, would have already seemed odd to her. What made her luck even worse was the sight of one of them, with a staff holding an 8-pronged star atop, with some sort of orb levitating in the center of it, tearing one of his followers' throats out. She was hiding behind some rubble, listening in on the leader rant...

"You incompetent fools! The Ritual will not work without a _Pure_ Virgin as sacrifice! Do not bring me some random whore from off the streets, at best I want a kidnapped and stripped Sororitas here!" he roared. Ruby gulped sinking deeper into cover. She didn't know what this ritual was, but she wasn't too keen on finding out. As quietly as she could, she started to skulk away through the shadows. Unfortunately, she could barely see where she was going through the darkness, and ended up stumbling over a piece of rubble, falling face first with _Crescent Rose_ clattering loudly against the ground, immediately drawing all attention to her.

Quickly picking herself back up, she looked on at the cultists gazing her down. She dropped into a ready stance, and their leader merely began to saunter forward, the staff in one hand and his other extended towards her...

"Why, hello, my lovely girl... I am Father Corian, the leader of these gentlemen. Please, wont you accompany us?" he said in a silky voice, his eyes glowing a shade of pink. Immediately, she felt her mind assailed with foreign thoughts, of carnal desires and pleasures. Growling, she shook herself free of the unnatural influence, and deployed her scythe, rising into a more aggressive stance.

"NO! I'm not your sacrifice! Leave me alone!" Ruby roared, taking the hideous man back some. He merely chuckled after a moment of recovering from his shock, before continuing, this time, in a far more sinister sounding voice.

"Hmmm... Never before has anyone resisted Slaanesh's temptation gifted unto me... I like you. But I simply can't take 'no' for an answer, girl. Now you force us to bring you in using force. A pity, it could've been so pleasurable for you, if you'd just come willingly."

"You can try me all you want! But I'm free, and you won't conquer me! I won't crawl, most of all, I won't fall! Not for You! Not Here! And Not Now!" Ruby roared, before pointing her scythe towards them, daring them to make the first move...

* * *

A man clad in black stalked through the forests, his boltgun on his hip and his retinue of Ordo Tempestus and Sororitas close on his heels. He didn't bother speaking to the Arbites, didn't have too much to say before trekking through the forest come nightfall. He considered himself a just and holy man, bringing tens of thousands of heretics justice from the barrel of his own boltgun over the last century. He was clad in black artificer power armor, a gift from the Salamanders Space Marine Chapter, with the holy seals of the Inquisition present upon his left shoulder pad, chest plate, and atop his wide-brimmed hat. Upon his right shoulder pad, he held the symbol of the Ordo Hereticus, his home organisation. He had several purity seals scattered over his armor, and a small cluster of them on his boltgun.

He sauntered through the forest with unmatched swagger, his normal walk, as anyone who'd spent more than a year with him could tell an onlooker. His name was Peter Terminus, Lord Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus. He was very young for a Lord Inquisitor, being only of some 121 years of age, and he looked as though he could be a century younger. Any uninformed person could've easily mistaken him from his youthful appearance for a man in his early twenties, and his pitch-black hair and stubble on his chin with a faint mustache didn't help in that regard. He, his two Tempestus Scions, and his two Celestians from the Order of the Ebon Chalice, made their way through the forest at a steady pace. None were worried, the five of them had done this dance many times now, and were confident in their ability to kick whatever heretics were stirring up trouble.

After about an hour into their trek, they were nearly at their stop. They could see the glow of the unholy braziers just beyond a kilometer away. But, they stopped their trek on a dime, hearing gun shots accompanied by masculine screams coming from the Heretics' location. Nodding to his followers, they began a dead sprint toward the clearing.

They were all treated to an... interesting sight. Here stood the heretics, dying to a little girl with a scythe at least twice as large as the wielder. They watched as an ornately dressed man with a staff bearing the star of Chaos on top rushed the girl, only to have his attack deftly sidestepped and find himself kicked into another cultist, bringing both down into the rubble. Another swung downward with a longsword, only for his blade to get caught on the shaft of the scythe and get brutally shoved off, the blade of the scythe downward, but the blade at the end of the shaft cut across the heretic's face, slicing right across his eyes and blinding him. Not wasting a moment, the girl brought her scythe blade around, which straightened out like a spear, and impaled the man through the abdomen, and forcing him back until he tripped and fell into the rubble. Ripping the blade out of the dying man, she looked at the blade, still a sterling silver and surprisingly clean, and saw the reflection of a heretic behind her swinging a pickax. She simply sidestepped the the attack, letting the pick fall past her into the already dying cultist's chest, before snapping her scythe back to it's proper form and swinging the blade around, burying it in his side. Pushing her own body against the shaft, she quickly pivoted around and hoisted the gasping man up in front of her as the man with a scythe blasted it apart with dark sorcery.

"Damn, she's good." One of the Celestians said, looking down to see at least seventeen more corpses, all with wounds inflicted by that scythe. The Inquisitor merely nodded, stroking his stubble beard with one hand and resting his hand on the boltgun on his hip. The girl could fight, that was for sure... he'd have to question her...

In the blink of an eye, the girl had discarded the corpse and closed the distance in a flash, ramming her blade through the sorcerer's chest, the blade exiting out his back and biting deep into the forehead of the cultist behind him still getting up, killing both in an instant. Slamming her shoulder against the dead sorcerer's chest, she bent her back leg as she hefted the corpse over her shoulder and into another man, bringing him down under the falling corpse. Pivoting around on her heel as the corpse fell, another swung down with a mace, only to get viciously pushed back and off to the side with the shaft, before the girl slammed the shaft into the face, breaking his nose. not a moment later, the girl followed up with a downward strike with the end of her scythe across his chest, forcing him to double over, and ending with a brutal upward strike across the man's chest, flinging him back, spinning as he landed on his chest. He was still alive, to everyone's surprise, and Peter quickly concluded he must've hidden a breastplate under his robes. The cultist attempted to crawl away, but was cut off from the girl hefting the scythe overhead and dropping it down into the pathetic man's back between his shoulder blades.

He smiled as the girl ripped the blade out, spitting on the corpse. Perhaps he could work with this...

Ruby growled as she spat on the corpse. She wasn't in the mood, nor did she have the damns to give for the live she'd taken. She wasn't bothered that she'd killed them, after all, had she not done so, they certainly would have done unthinkable things to her. It was justified to her, and for that reason she knew their faces and screams wouldn't haunt her next she slept. Sighing, she suddenly stiffened up as she heard clapping from behind her.

Spinning around fast enough to make an eldar jealous, she leveled her gaze on the source of the clapping. A man clad in black, very fine armor, two women in resplendent armor each brandishing large guns, and two men armored lesser than the previous three, but seemingly equipped with some sorts of energy based weapons stood before her, the latter four eyeing her cautiously with the first still clapping away with an amused grin displayed across his youthful face. She eyed them as cautiously as they seemed to be eyeing her, and she readied her weapon in case they meant her harm.

She tightened the grip on her weapon as the black-clad man in the middle simply nodded at her, and narrowed her eyes. She noticed too late, however, he wasn't nodding at her. He was nodding past her.

Immediately, she felt a sort of pinch on the side of her neck, and a cool sensation spreading through her body out from her neck. The long, exhausting day and night instantly caught up to her then, she thought, before blacking out, and hitting the floor...

"Good timing, Jay." Inquisitor Terminus said simply to the Callidus Assassin, before walking up and lifting the girl up and shouldering her. "Marcus?" he said, gaining the Scion in question's attention. "See to the cleanup, if you would? I want this place more thoroughly burned down this time."

The man simply nodded, not saying a word but walking off, touching a finger to his vox bead to issue out his orders to others coming down from orbit. Terminus garnered a smug grin as he looked to his other companions and waggled his eyebrows. The other Scion merely gave a coarse chuckle and the Sororitas rolled their eyes, and after he moved to order a Valkyrie down for their pickup.

* * *

Ruby groaned as she started coming to. She couldn't feel much, but concluded she'd been drugged by someone from behind, and knew she was sitting down. The chair had arms, and her wrists were propped up on them, bound to the chair by metal cuffs attached to chains.

She still couldn't see much, but her hearing was slowly coming back to her, she could hear the presence of only one other person, though what had gotten her in this situation, she believed it safe to believe otherwise. The man she could hear was in front of her, she knew.

After a few more minutes, she could properly open her eyes and see, though groggily. It was the man who nodded to whoever was behind her to drug her, and though she knew she should be angry, she couldn't bring herself to anger at the moment. Perhaps it was another effect of the drug...

"Well, well, well... you're finally awake!" The man stated, his accent not one she could recognize. "I believe introductions are in order, yes? I am Peter Terminus, Lord Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus. Can you tell me your name?"

"Ugh... D-did you... d-drug-g-g m-me?" Ruby stated groggily, rolling her head and unconsciously cracking her neck."

"Yes, I did. It was the only way I saw to bring the situation to a peaceful resolution, rest assured, we meant you no harm. Now, my girl, would you please answer my question?" He said patiently, folding his hands over the table.

"R-right... M-my na-ame i-is... R-ruby R-rose..." She stated, earning a positive response, she thinks, from the man interrogating her.

"Ruby Rose? What an odd, but lovely name. Both uncommon where I come from... Now, tell me Ruby, how old are you?" He asked calmly. He already knew this answer from bio scans they'd done on her before bringing her into the interrogation room, he merely wanted to make sure this girl's motor functions and the sort were all there.

"F-f-f-f-fif-f-fteen..." Ruby responded.

"Good girl... Now, how many fingers am I holding up?" he asked, holding up his index, middle and pinkie fingers.

"T-three... Three F-fing-gers..."

"Good! Now, the drug should be wearing off in a few seconds, but lastly, tell me your..." He stated, looking her over for any detail he might state to make sure her memory is intact. After about a second, he had his answer. "...eye color."

"S-silver... w-why? C-can't y-y-you see i-it y-yours-s-self?" The girl asked sarcastically. He laughed quietly, that was the first time anyone had responded like that to him in years. The respectful and honored responses were nice and all, but got dull after awhile.

"I merely wish to jog your memory, Ruby, no need to adopt any hostility. Now, you've answered my first set of questions, I believe it's only fair I answer a few of yours. So go ahead, ask away, you have three questions." He stated calmly, hoping to learn something of the girl from her questions.

"Y-you... you s-said... Agh..." The girl sputtered and groaned, before looking back up. the look in her eyes told him that the drugs had worn off. "You... you said you part of the... ah... how you say... 'Order Hairy-tusk?' Whats-ugh-whats that?" The girl queried, almost gagging near the end.

"Ordo Hereticus, Ruby, not 'Order Hairy-tusk'. The Ordo Hereticus is a sect of the Inquisition that deals with traitors and heretics, usually threats related to... well... that isn't immediately important. That's one, your next?" He corrected and explained.

"T-the Inquisition... Wha... What's that?"

"The Inquisition in a collection of elite factions charged with the defense of the Imperium from threats such as Xenos, Mutants, Traitors and Heretics. Much of our work within the Imperium is done from the shadows. Now, your third?" He responded in a kind tone.

"The Imperium?" She said, a lost look on her face.

"You don't know of it? It's the only reason Humanity has a place in the Galaxy. Built by our Holy God Emperor, The Imperium of Man is a massive empire spanning across many star systems across the galaxy, to put in a very... basic, bare-bones way." He looked at the girl, seeing much more evident confusion. "Now, I've answered your questions, are you ready for more?"

"I-i'm a bit parched, hungry, actually... I haven't eaten since I woke up in that forsaken forest..." The Inquisitor nodded, snapping his fingers. Two servitors entered the room, each setting down a tray in front of each of them. The trays each held on them a large glass of water and various assorted meats and fruits Ruby didn't recognize. She did recognize the bread, though. The inquisitor merely smiled, and tapped a button on the table, releasing her cuffs.

"Go ahead, eat. I assure you, all of it is good." He said, and the girl responded timidly, taking a piece of grox on her fork before biting down on the meat. She chewed for a few seconds slowly, before gradually speeding up and swallowing the meat. Looking up, she started talking plainly.

"Ah... thanks for undoing the shackles... they weren't very comfortable... and the meat isn't too bad... could use salt and pepper though..." She said quietly, making the Inquisitor smile.

"Y'know, I was thinking the same thing. Here." He stated simply, snapping his fingers once more, bringing in the same servitor as before, this time with two small salt and pepper shakers. "Now, normally, this would go down in a much more painful manner. Other Inquisitors don't often realize that being nice can also make people answer your questions, y'know? Torture just ain't always the best solution." He stated matter-of-factly.

"I ah... I agree. I think torture should only be used as a last resort... inhumane, I think it." She replied.

"Hmmm... Not quite a last resort, I'd say. I merely think one should analyze their target of questioning. You, for example, I know probably wouldn't respond very well to torture, am I mistaken."

"If you'd tortured me, no, I wouldn't be quite as inclined to speak so freely with you."

"Thought so." He said smugly, before taking a bite out of his bread.

The two continued their meal, to which Ruby had appreciated greatly, and made small talk during that time. Finally, after a few minutes, they'd finished, and had the servitor take their empty trays back to the kitchen.

"Ah, a good meal is always refreshing... now, Are you ready to answer my questions, Ruby?" He asked, already knowing her answer.

"Go ahead."

"Good. Now, did those men down there say anything... unusual? Perhaps they'd said any names?" he questioned, and Ruby raised her hand to her chin and rubbed it lightly, thinking back to the encounter.

"Uhhhh... yeah, their leader mentioned someone named... 'Slahnish' I think?.. They also said they needed a pure virgin for their ritual... whatever that means." She stated.

"Hmmm... Troubling, but that situation has been dealt with now... Impressive work, by the way. I applaud you on that. Now... next question, where are you from?"

"Island of Patch, in Vale, Remnant. I was a student at Beacon Academy, the best Hunter academy on Remnant!" She stated, her eyes lighting up some.

"I know of no institution called 'Beacon,' nor do I recognize the name of, what I'm assuming is the planet?" Ruby nodded. "I know of no world named Remnant. How did you get here? And what Hunting academy teaches youth to fight like you do?"

"Ah, well, I went to bed in my dorm with my team after sealing the breach in Vale... but woke up in that darned forest... and for the second question, Our world's hunters fight monsters, the Creatures of Grimm. They're soulless beings, that are attracted to negative emotions and seek to destroy humanity." She said, a slight chill running down her spine.

"I see... Well, knowing the existence of Slaanesh at all makes you a serious threat to the Imperium's security as a civilian. Under normal circumstances, I'd have to quietly dispose of you, a bolt through your head perhaps." This immediately made the girl break out in sweat and turn several shades paler. "But... I'm a Lord Inquisitor, you see, and I hate killing innocents... So! I've a proposal!" he stated jovially, clasping his head together. "You fight well, but are evidently lost without any idea of what's going on. I can teach you everything you need to know, you help me, and I help you. You'll train with me, learn under me, and lead a life of purpose... and luxury when not on the job."

This got Ruby's attention, and she leaned forward, hoping to know more.

"And the best benefit of of joining us is-"

"I won't have to paint the walls with your brains." Came a coarse voice from behind her. She didn't have time to turn around, as she felt the barrel of a large gun pressed against the back of her head. She gulped, now scared for her life.

"Alexander, such blatant threats do not help us here. And don't interrupt me again, you hear? I may consider all my retinue my friends, but I'll be damned before I allow you to step out of line like that again and not be reprimanded, Am I understood?" He threatened, and the trooper backed off, taking the barrel away from Ruby's head.

"Apologies for that... but he was right, if you don't join, we can't allow you to leave this room alive. It's nothing personal, but you've been exposed to something highly classified, and we can't take the risk of you spilling that out to the public. Even if it is just a name."

"Ah, I uh... I believe I understand..." Ruby replied nervously.

"Good, good. Now, I believe I can guess your answer... It's a 'yes,' isn't it?" The Inquisitor said with a small grin.

"Ah, well, I don't want to die at just fifteen years of age, so... Yeah, it is a 'yes'." Ruby said with some nervous laughter accompanying her agreement.

"Splendid!" He said, rising out of his chair. he opened a door and gestured for her to follow. After rising out of her chair, she did as he told, and was lead down a dark hallway...

* * *

It must've been twenty minutes on the tram before they'd reached their destination. During that time, he'd further elaborated on certain things to the girl that she was confused about.

Walking down yet another hallway, this time well lit, she could see a great many wonders of technology and beautiful artwork lining the walls, and she walked on what must've been the finest velvet carpet she'd ever seen. Sigils of the Inquisition were everywhere, but were not placed randomly. The architecture was Gothic and had a vaulted ceiling, it very fine, at that. She wondered if she was in some sort of castle. For a few more minutes, she traversed the corridors with the Inquisitor, before coming to a large set of double-doors.

He opened them to reveal a large room, fitted with a several tall shelves filled to the brim with books, all appropriately classified and categorized, a very large dresser beside a massive, ornate king-sized bed, and behind it to it's left and right, were two massive sets of crimson curtains. In the center of the room was an equally ornate and large table with various decorations upon it, an unbelievably fancy chandelier above it, and what was probably the most expensive looking tablecloth coating it she'd ever seen. Against the wall near the shelves was a massive, yet again ornate, desk, with a large, very comfortable-looking fancy chair, and several unlit candles on the desk. She raced into the room and ran a hand across the fabric of the bed, before looking around some more. There were couches in another corner, along with other various pieces of furniture, and a large screen against the wall, with a sort of terminal beside it. All and all, she knew, from her time with Weiss, that this room alone would have costed millions of lien back on Remnant. Everything was absolutely beautiful and comfortable, smooth and pleasant to the touch.

Looking back to the man, he tapped his fist against another thing on the wall...

"This is a vox communication unit, you can adjust the channel with this pad below," he gestured to a small digital pad below the speaker-looking bit, "and I've had the Techpriests make it so that you can simply tap it, select where you want it to patch through to, and it will... well... patch you through, by default it's patched to the kitchen. Just hold the button to the right of the speaker down when speaking. Any questions?" Ruby shook her head to say 'no', and he nodded, pleased at her quick adaptation. "This will be your room, mine is just down the hall if you need anything. I trust you'll be responsible with the Vox unit, yes?" Ruby nodded fervently, getting a smile out of the man. He began to walk out, but quickly stopped himself, before looking back at the girl, who was already on the bed taking her boots off. She looked surprised that her boots were clean, but then realized that there wasn't a spec of dirt on her like there was before she was knocked out. Shaking the thought away, he looked on at the girl and smiled.

"Oh, I forgot something! Ruby, open the curtains, please." He said smugly, to which the girl gave him an inquisitive look, one he thought fitted her. Shrugging, she reached over and drew back the curtains. Her expression was priceless, a look of awe and wonder as she gazed out at the star-lit void of space beyond her...

"Ruby, Let me be the first to welcome you aboard the Apocalypse Class Battleship, _ultioni et gloriae!"_


	2. A Moral and Educational Quandary

About an hour had passed since Ruby had been shown her room, and despite all her best efforts, she found one small- okay, it was actually a major problem.

She was told to read one specific book that the Inquisitor had pulled out for her...

And she didn't understand the language.

She cursed her luck, of course it would be written in whatever strange language the Inquisitor spoke when he gave the name of the ship, why wouldn't it be? For a full hour she toiled, trying to find something written in something she could understand. But alas, her efforts were in vain as it seemed every single book was written in the same language. Sighing, she dragged herself over to the vox and scrolled down the list she was given. Fortunately, the selections were all in a language she could understand, and it wasn't hard to find the word "Inquisitor" on the list. pressing her selection, she pushed down on the button and began to speak...

"Ummm... I-inquisitor? Can you hear me?" She asked timidly. For a moment there was no response, and she began wondering if it was broken...

 _"Yes, Ruby, I can hear you. Is there something you require my help with?"_ came the reply, making Ruby sigh in relief. Pressing down on the button again, she began to voice her problem...

"Ah, well... yeah, there's a slight problem with the book you're having me read through..."

 _"Oh, well, what's the problem? I'm sure it can't be too major, can it?"_

"I ah... I don't understand the language..."

 _"SON OF A!-"_

* * *

 **Inquisitorial Rose**

* * *

Peter Terminus had made his way down to her room in record time, a set of books carried in his hands. He set the books down on the girl's desk with a thump, and looked at her, tapping his foot. He already knew she could speak, and supposedly, write and read Low Gothic. Now was the problem of teaching her High Gothic.

All the books here were written in High Gothic, as was normal, since usually an Inquisitor's protege would have come from one of many prestigious Imperial Schola. But here he was in a very bizarre situation, with a girl much younger than any graduate from one of those schools who hadn't been learning High Gothic from a young age. Breathing deeply, he began sorting out the books in front of the girl who he could only say reminded him of a deer in headlights right now.

Snapping his fingers, he brought the girl out of her stupor, and successfully seized her attention.

"Okay! These books are written in Low Gothic, the same language you and I have been speaking this entire time. These are materials to study to learn High Gothic, which is what those books are written in." He stated, gesturing to the many large shelves holding many large books. "I will help teach you High Gothic, as per your new standard curriculum. You will also be taught many things, including etiquette, combat, Imperial laws and customs, literature, mathematics, and you'll be learning of politics within the Imperium. You'll also be learning about our various allies and our even more numerous enemies."

"Oh, ummm... Okay! So... where are we starting?" The girl asked eagerly.

"Teaching you how to read, write, and speak like you're nobility." The girl's head made an audible _Thunk!_ against the desk.

* * *

 _Six hours later..._

"...and that's the gist of a basic introduction in High Gothic. Any questions?" He said, having personally been overseeing the tutelage of Ruby over the last six hours.

"Ah... Well... I do have one..?" Ruby started timidly.

"Voice it."

"Can you start again from the beginning?" The Inquisitor's head made an audible _Thunk!_ against the desk.

* * *

 _Two more hours later..._

"...now... Hopefully you got it this time... did you?" He asked hopefully, and was this time satisfied as the girl nodded to say yes. "Wonderful! Now... Any questions?"

"I'm hungry."

"That's a statement, Ruby, not a question." He corrected her.

"Okay... can you ask me if I have any statements to make?" She asked innocently.

"...Got anything to say?"

"I'm hungry." The Inquisitor chuckled to himself, and rose up out of his seat he'd taken beside Ruby. Walking over to the Vox communication unit, he selected the kitchen...

"Oh Chef? I'd like to make a request."

 _"Aye, anythin' ye want, Lord Inquisitar!"_

"Bring us two plates of your 'Fenrisian Delight', please."

 _"Aye! They'll be right down there fer ya, me'lord! Just gimme and me boys twenty minutes!"_ Came the cheery response. He laughed lightly to himself, before gesturing for Ruby to come over to the couch with him in front of the large screen.

After about a minute, she had taken a seat in as polite a posture as possible while he simply plopped down on the couch and kicked back in as causal posture as possible. Looking at the girl, he merely toward her in a semi-dismissive way, silently telling her to relax.

The girl relaxed her posture, but still looked a bit nervous. He sighed, and looked at what there was to watch. After about another minute, he'd found an ancient relic, a movie from the very late 20th century about some World War on Terra, apparently the second.

"Hey... Wanna watch a movie? I've got this one, it's called "Saving Private Ryan", You down?" he asked, and Ruby simply gave a nervous nod and a small smile. Unlike many other Inquisitors, he liked to think he didn't act like he had a stick up his arse 24/7.

It took a few minutes to get the girl relaxed enough to comfortably watch the movie, but he managed it. After some twenty minutes, and a, in the girl's opinion, an absolutely brutal beach scene, their food had finally arrived, being large pieces of venison from Fenrisian elk, mashed potatoes, each a pint of ale (which the girl was evidently unsure of), and some choice fruits and vegetables. He himself had seen similar battles to the aforementioned one play out himself, but hadn't really seen any quite as successful as the one he saw in the movie. They didn't pause it while they ate, content to have some food to eat while they watched.

After another two hours or so, the movie ended, leaving Ruby a bit teary-eyed and the Inquisitor nodding at the somber, but realistic ending. The heroes didn't always survive.

Now with empty plates, the Inquisitor looked down at the girl, who'd stacked the empty plates up and began to rise. He simply gestured for the girl to sit back down, knowing he could just call in a servitor to take it for them. For about another minute, it was quiet as he didn't know quite what to say. It couldn't be more obvious that the two looked at the movie from different views, one being that of a hardened veteran and the other of practically a civilian that wasn't used to death... Though he supposed that could be a good conversation starter.

"Well, I know not about you, but I rather enjoyed that movie! Quite heroic, those soldiers were! Don't you agree?"

"O-oh... yeah, those troopers were pretty brave... Can't imagine being in such a situation, though... that would certainly be terrifying..." The girl replied quietly. He chuckled darkly before rising to his feet and nodding his head, telling her to follow. She stood and quietly fell in step with him.

After a few minutes, they'd come across a large room, though evidently not their destination. Many large machines resided here, with their workers chained to them. None dared to look at her, or the Inquisitor, and all looked to be worse for wears...

"Umm... Inqui-" She began, but was cut off.

"No need to be so formal, Ruby, just address me by my first name."

"Ah... right... Peter? Why are these people chained to their machines?"

"They're not free men. Criminals, scum, indentured servants. They've all committed crimes, and this is their sentence. They'll die here, forgotten and loved by none." The Inquisitor spat, disgusted by the convicts aboard his ship.

"So... they're slaves?"

"Convicts, Ruby, not slaves. They're here because of their own actions, so this is their just sentence. Though, were I you, I wouldn't get close to any of them, as many of them are convicted of heinous crimes, such as murder, theft of Inquisitorial property, and rape." The last one got the desired effect, as the girl gulped hard and brought herself closer to him. "So give them no pity, they deserve none. Had I passed judgment on them, They'd all have had their heads blown to tiny bits, and then some... but the Arbites dealt with them, so just don't look at them."

Another few minutes had passed once they boarded the tram before they reached their destination. Skipping the walk there, they'd found themselves in what was evidently the room of a tailor. The tailor was a... machine? Ruby wasn't honestly sure, but all she was sure of was that it had many, many mechanical limbs and appendages, red robes, and was wearing a hood.

The mechanical marvel slinked towards her, and closed in on her face in such a way that made her quite uncomfortable...

"Ah! So marvelous to meet a new face! Perhaps I could work with your body? Yesyesyesyes... perhaps a new arm? Cybernetic legs perhaps?" the... thing said in a very metallic sounding, nearly garbled voice.

"Enough, Decius, you'll scare her. Ruby, this is Decius Omah, the Mechanicus Archmagos who likes to reside aboard my ship... Decius, this is Ruby Rose, my protege and adoptive daughter." The last part made the girl sputter somewhat but he hushed her with a hand over her mouth. "I'd like you to take her measurements and make a few outfits for her... to her liking, of course."

"I see... but of course, what sort of outfit shall it be? Heavy armor? Light armor? Perhaps a sort of hybrid? You seem to enjoy a corset, perhaps I could incorporate such into some-"

"Just make it happen, Decius." He said, snapping the cyborg's attention away from the young girl he was circling. "Ruby, I'll be back in thirty minutes to pick you up, please be cooperative with the Archmagos." He stated, before doing a 180 turn and walking out of the room. Ruby reached a hand out for him but it was no use, he was already gone. Sighing, she turned to the cyborg that was looking at her with the most gleeful expression that could possibly come out of a cybernetic mask.

"Well then, Mi'lady! I've already many different outfits in mind that I'm sure you'll love! Your father has promised me toasters should I do this to perfection, so we Must!" He said, once more getting uncomfortably close with the girl, his many mechadendrites swaying in the air. "I'm sure your current outfit is much enjoyed by you, so I must ask that you undress."

"Woahwoahwoahwoahwait! Why the heck do you want me to undress?!." Ruby sputtered. The cyborg merely chuckled.

"Why, to get the _Perfect_ measurements, of course, you silly girl! And the perfect clothing is the ones so comfortable you forget they're there! The type that feels like a sort of second skin! Light and comfortable! The Perfect outfit requires the Perfect measurements!" Ruby took a step back and raised her hands up defensively, laughing nervously. Nodding, she nervously, and with a very embarrassed look across her face, undressed down to her lingerie. The Techpriest deadpanned at her for a moment, before the mechadendrites reached out and started taking their measurements...

"Tell me girl, does your lingerie ever feel tight?" he asked, and Ruby, still with a beet-red face nervously responded.

"I-I-I g-guess?" Ruby responded honestly. Truth be told, she'd been meaning to replace her current lingerie since her fight at the docks against Torchwick. Though she immediately regret her answer as the mechanical appendages of Techpriest forcefully ripped off her lingerie, and made her give a loud _Eep!_ as she moved her hands to cover up what was uncovered. Though her wrists were immediately bound and pulled aside by other mechadendrites.

"Please stand still, Child! I cannot get the perfect measurements if you keep squirming around like this!" The Archmagos pleaded, but fell on deaf ears. Sighing, he took a needle from his stock and lightly pinned it on a pressure point, making the girl's whole body lock up aside from her neck and her head...

"AH! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!." Ruby screamed, with the Techpriest simply straightening out her posture as he needed.

"Acupuncture, a pressure point. Now, please, be quiet so I can get my measurements. If its any consolation, I have no interest in you and your... flesh. Flesh is weak. Squishy." He stated simply, before continuing with his measurements. After about a minute, he retreated to his workbench, where he immediately began his work. Not a minute later, he came back, new lingerie made, and fitted the pieces onto the girl.

The new lingerie felt nice, very fine and silky. A marked improvement over her last. She sighed, relieved that she was finally clothed again. The Techpriest simply retreated to his desk and brought out more materials, and got to work making her first outfit on her.

"Ah... excuse m-me, Mr. Decius?" She started, making the Techpriest look her in the eyes. "I'm ah... sorry I screamed at you like that..."

"Apology accepted! Though, to be fair, I suppose I should have given some earlier warning. If you promise to comply, I'll remove the needle from your pressure point."

"I Promise I'll comply, please remove it, having my body locked up like this is getting REALLY uncomfortable..." She pleaded, and immediately all her tensed up muscles loosened, as the needle was removed and she nearly fell over.

Catching herself before she fell face-first into the floor, she stood back upright, and did everything he asked of her.

* * *

Thirty minutes had passed, enough time for him to get a cup of coffee and have a chat with his Sororitas. Now he was on his way back, hoping to find the girl ready to go, with at least fifteen new outfits. As he approached, he heard one unexpected sound, that being of laughter. Picking up his pace, he rounded the corner and opened the door, revealing the techpriest working on Ruby's last outfit, the latter of which had to be held in place because of her bursts of laughter...

"Hahah- Stahp, That tickles!"

"Please, just hold still mi'lady! I've almost the last thread through now!" The Archmagos pleaded as he struggled with the laughing child. He smiled looking on at the scene, before knocking on the wall to gain everyone's attention. The two looked over at him, their expressions shock, and neutrality.

"Ah, welcome back, Mi'lord! I've almost finished with the last thread on her newest outfit, but unfortunately, as it would turn out, your protege and/or daughter is quite ticklish."

"Heh, well, that can't be helped, now can it? Take your time, how many outfits have you finished?"

"Only five, Mi'lord. Apologies, I've never taken a charge being ticklish into account when considering time it would take to make outfits."

"Don't sweat it, five is plenty for now, after all, she's only in training." He stated, waving off the concern. The Archmagos nodded, before carefully running the last thread through.

"There, all done! When you outgrow these clothes, come back, and I will outfit you as such... Same goes for your lingerie." Her new outfit consisted of an armored, laced corset that stopped just below her breasts, not much different than her previous corset, a skirt similar to her last one, though this one with some light metallic plates aligned in each layer and a masterfully crafted belt with the buckle brandishing the Imperial Aquila. She wore knee-high leather and metal boots with knee pads that he could've sworn he'd seen his friend, Inquisitor Adrastia, wearing more than once, and a simple, but fine long-sleeve button-up shirt with additional room added in the bust area, red frills at the ends of her sleeves, and a popped collar. Her hands were tipped off with beautifully crafted gloves that ended just before her elbows. She had some light metal plates covering her forearms with buckles on the underside, with the symbol of the Inquisition on each pad. The symbol of the inquisition could also be found in the center of her right knee-pad and on the backhand side of each glove. The overall color scheme of the outfit remained the same to her last, being

"My bust looks bigger now..." Ruby mused, with the Techpriest chuckling before correcting her.

"Correction, your bust now looks like its actual size."

"...it's bigger than my sisters' was at fifteen..."

"So it is! Now, your final outfit is finished, run along now, your Father seems in need of you. I'll have your old clothes and new clothes delivered to your room." He said, picking up the old clothes with his mechadendrites. Though one piece Ruby did quickly snatch before he could grab it, that being her cloak. She swiftly affixed it over her new outfit, and gave them both a smile... though the Techpriest was not amused...

"Why- Nononononono, that isn't of fine enough quality to be put on such an outfit, silly girl! Please hand it back over-"

"But this was... it was my mother's gift to me... its my only keepsake..." Ruby pleaded, unintentionally pulling at both older men in the rooms' heartstrings with her admission. Terminus looked down at his boltgun with a somber expression and the Archmagos gave a slow nod...

"I see... Tell you what, give me five minutes, I'll make it indistinguishable from a cloak a High Lord of Terra would be jealous of!" The Archmagos exclaimed. Ruby nodded, and handed him her cloak, which he immediately went to work on at his bench.

Five silent minutes followed, before the Archmagos turned around, holding the cloak up for her to see. It now had an adamantine weave, and the underside facing her was covered in the finest furs he had. The pins, being of her personal insignia, were replaced with duplicates of a stronger, higher quality metal.

"See? I told you I could increase the quality! Only a few ounces of weight have been added, too, you'll never notice the difference!" The Archmagos exclaimed, before pinning the cloak on the girl, whom was speechless from the transformation.

"I... I... Thank you, Really, I-"

"No thanks required, Mi'lady." The Archmagos stated. "You're of the Inquisition, now, and the daughter of a close friend, even if adopted. It was a pleasure to give you the best... Now, go on, your father has need of you." He finished, before ushering her out with his mechadendrites.

She exited out into the hallway, her self-claimed adoptive father waiting for her whilst leaning against a wall. She walked up to him with some purpose, and began to mouth her concerns, but was once again hushed...

"Shhh... not here, I know what's on your mind, we'll discuss it once we get back to your room." He whispered quietly to her, before leading her back to the tram. The ride was somewhat uncomfortable for Ruby, not quite knowing how to feel at the immediate moment. On one side, he was a really nice person, and he'd treated her very well so far... on the other, she still had a family, a father related by blood... it just wouldn't feel right to call someone else "father"...

As soon as they reentered her room, the Inquisitor took a seat on the couch, and gestured for Ruby to take a seat beside him. She did so, but made sure to put some space between herself and the Inquisitor. They weren't so close yet.

"I'm going to guess you're wondering why I called you my adoptive daughter, yes?" He began. Ruby nodded, before speaking her own piece.

"My family is still alive, y'know. They're just... not here." Ruby said somberly, reminding herself that she was somewhat alone in certain regards.

"Yes, well... I've checked all Imperial Astrogation charts, and crossed references with those taken from the Traitors, Tau Empire, and Eldar, but found no world that matches what you've told me. No worlds that have a shattered moon in this galaxy have a habitable atmosphere, even then, those moons are constantly shifting, not like what you've told me of your world during the tram rides. I'm sorry to say, but by all accounts, that leaves you an orphan here. You may be here, but your family is not, and as you're still a minor, being only 15, you must be considered a child. I thought it would be some consolation to you, bring some comfort to know you do have one person you can come to in this dark, cruel galaxy." He stated bluntly, shooting down the girl's hopes that her world may be out there.

"I... I'm... That's it then? I'm truly alone, then, aren't I? I have no family here, no friends..." The girl stated grimly, starting to tear up as she let her gaze fall. It started with light sniffles, but quickly degraded into a full blown fit of tears. The Inquisitor just sighed and rested his hand on the girl's back. He knew the feeling of being all alone, of being an orphan with no one out there he could rely on, nobody out there that cared about him. Unconsciously, he pulled the girl into his side. To his surprise, she didn't resist, instead seemingly just went with it.

"Shhh... shhh... You'll be fine... but I can't help ease this pain, not unless you let me. I consider you my protege, and I'd like to consider you my daughter, but only if you accept me as more than just your mentor." He said, lightly rubbing the girl's back. He knew moments like this would have other inquisitors calling him soft, or weak... but he didn't care. The woman he succeeded and inherited this very ship from had done for him what he was doing for this girl, and he knew his old mentor would be smiling at him right now, were she still alive.

After a few more minutes of the girl bawling her eyes out, she finally started to calm down, returning back to minor sniffles as she raised her gaze to the Inquisitor comforting her...

"I... I don't know if I could live up to that... You're... you're you, with your swagger, style... you're awesome, and I'm just... me... I wasn't even very good back home..."

"Hey, who ever said I was born this epic? My you and I are more similar than you may think, girl, only I was about six years older than you are when I was brought in... Now, chin up, how about I brew us some coffee?" He stated, brightening his own mood to try to bring hers up. Ruby looked up, a ghost of a smile on her face...

"Can you brew mine with cream and five sugars?"

"Hah, you too, eh? We're gonna get along juuuust fine!" He said with a small laugh and exited the room for a moment, giving Ruby a chance to think. He was right, about her family not being there... but it was comforting to know she could call him family, if she did so wish.

She wasn't ready to just outright call him "father" in private... but perhaps in time, they could work towards a closer relation like such. She hoped they'd be able to.

Dust, she wasn't expecting her entire universe to be shaken so violently in such a short time. What was wrong with her? Normally her willpower wouldn't have been nearly so weak, she wouldn't have broken down like that...

Sighing, she guessed she just wasn't as strong as she thought she was... granted, having everything you know and love ripped away from you overnight would be a bit much for anybody. Maybe him referring to her as his daughter was just a bit much for her? Maybe that was the tipping point... or maybe the cultists first impression of this galaxy was... or perhaps it was just the first crack? Perhaps him treating her so well, like she was family, was subtly, unknowingly worsening the crack, making her realize what she no longer truly had... or perhaps it was intentional? He was a very cunning, sly and tactical man... was it so far-fetched an idea that he'd seen through her facade, and decided to drive a wedge into the crack after careful analysis? It wouldn't surprise her if that was indeed his plan... but could she really be upset if that was his plan? If he'd treated her like garbage, she'd feel worse now than she already was, and when the missing comfort of family and friends caught up to her eventually, how much harder would she have been hit by it?

She ultimately decided against seeing it negatively. She just had to hold hope that he was being truthful with her, and go with it. If it turned out there was a more sinister motive in motion, she'd cross that bridge when she got there.

Once again, she stopped dead in her tracks. She didn't have any reason to assume any sort of sinister motive out of him other than the fact that he was indeed a very sly and cunning individual. It wouldn't be fair to assume the worst out of him when he'd treated her so fairly, especially when, from what she's seen, he could get the same loyalty out of her with a bit of cybernetics and mind-altering reprogramming as he was trying to get by being kind to her.

She sighed, ever since she woke up in this accursed Galaxy, nothing has been right. She should have been bothered by killing those cultists, but she wasn't... why? This man, this Inquisitor Terminus, was being so kind to her when, from what he said, most other Inquisitors would have just shot her and been done with it to keep secrets safe.

Why? Why was she even here in the first place? What cruelty fate must have, to rip her away from friends and family and throw her into an unknown, far more dark universe with no hint as to where to go or what to do from there. Was running into the cultists fate? Maybe, maybe not. Was encountering the Inquisitor and his retinue fate? Maybe, maybe not. was him taking her in as his own fate? She could only speculate.

Sighing once more, she rested her head back upon the couch. Her mind was racing at the speed of light but to no end. Fortunately, her thoughts were halted as the doors to her room opened once more, revealing the kind Inquisitor with a pot of coffee brewed, and it looked just how she liked it.

"You and I take our coffee the same way, did you know that?" He mused, and Ruby stifled a small chuckle.

"You hinted at it."

"Ah well..." He finished, setting the pot down and setting down the two cups that were held in his opposite hand. He poured the coffee into both cups, and handed Ruby hers. They sat in silence for awhile longer, quietly drinking their coffee as Ruby's mind wandered. For a few more minutes, she just thought. What was she going to say, how was she going to say it, and what exactly was "it?"

"Hey..." She said, catching the Inquisitor's attention. "I don't think I can call you father... not yet... but... I-I wouldn't mind if... m-maybe, we could work to hold that kind of F-f-f-f-father a-and-d D-d-daughter r-relations-ship?" Ruby managed to get out, albeit stuttering badly. He merely smiled, clasping her shoulder with one hand. She continued. "But... Before I can call you family, I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me... tell me that there's no ulterior or sinister motive... But if there is an ulterior motive... what is it?" She inquired. The man chuckled and looked at her directly.

"Well, keep thinking like that, and I'm certain you'll make a fine Inquisitor!" He stated boldly, before looking her in the eyes. "But no, there is no ulterior or sinister motive. I've already given you my motive, and I have no reason to deceive you. After all, what would I stand to gain from it? Another pawn? I've plenty, and wouldn't need to waste time tutoring a child so intensely to get millions more." He stated firmly. It was refreshing to Ruby, knowing deep down he was being dead serious. She smiled, before closing her eyes and nodding, satisfied with the answer...

"Now!" He exclaimed, taking her off guard. "I have many videos and thousands of hours worth of footage of Space Marines in combat, how about we watch some, eh?" Peter stated, nudging her shoulder. She just donned a new expression, though one he was already getting used to...

"What's a Space Marine?" His head thunked loudly against the small coffee table in front of them.


	3. A Perplexing Conundrum

Ruby found herself the most physically comfortable she'd ever been in her life while laying down on the couch in her room. The Inquisitor had given a brief explanation of what a Space Marine is, though she would be lying if she didn't say the fact that she'd have to fight treacherous marines at some point in her life didn't terrify her. It did comfort her, however, that the majority of Space Marines out there would be on her side.

"Okay, I've collected footage taken of various Space Marine Chapters, including the Blood Ravens during the first year of the Aurelian Crusade, the Black Templars during the defense of Helsreach during the second Armageddon War, The Space Wolves, particularly footage of Ragnar Blackmane, and footage of the Grey Knights in combat! Trust me, these guys are epic." Terminus exclaimed, clasping Ruby on the shoulder, before thumbing a remote and pulling up the first footage.

For the next several hours, they sat together watching the Space Marines, warriors out of legend, do battle with the vile Tyranids, the endless green tide, the dying Eldar, foul traitors and the dreaded forces of Chaos. Ruby was particularly mesmerized by the Black Templars' Reclusiarch, Grimaldus, and the Space Wolves Wolf Lord and Champion, Ragnar Blackmane. While their battle prowess initially seized her attention, the psykic prowess of the Grey Knights awed her, revealing the power of the warp displayed in combat.

When the spectacle finally came to an end, Ruby was not disappointed whatsoever. Ruby was left wanting to see more, but this time, in person. She wanted to see these mythic heroes at work up close, watch them destroy their enemies like gods among men upon the battlefield.

"Okay, that was Epic! Do you have anything else I can see? Any more footage of Ragnar Blackmane?!." Ruby exclaimed, earning a stifled laugh from her new adoptive father. He rose to his feet and patted her on the head, before collecting gathering the footage up and setting it aside.

"Unfortunately, that was all my footage of Blackmane... however, there is some news I must give you." He said, his voice hardening near the end. "We are traveling to the Ferox Rift. The Blood Ravens there are battling the Ork invasion, but the Orks are not our concern there."

"So... if we're not going there to face off against the Orks... why are we going there?" Ruby asked, somewhat perplexed by the situation explained.

"The newly appointed Reclusiarch of the Blood Ravens has requested our presence under the belief that the Planetary Governors of the Rift are in fact heretics. All his forces are tied up dealing with the Orks, and I'm the only Inquisitor the Reclusiarch trusts to do this right."

"Oh... I see. Well, when are we departing?" Ruby asked, curiosity shining through her eyes.

"We are currently making preparations for Warp Travel. Our estimated time of arrival once we make the jump will be exactly one month. During that time, we shall continue your tutoring, and I shall train you how to properly handle Imperial equipment such as boltguns, plasma and melta weapons, as well as other specialty weapons so when your chance to operate them comes, you don't end up blowing yourself up or something." He said, before stalking out the Room, but stopping just at the doorway...

"Oh, and you've been awake for some time, now. I recommend you get some rest. There's no day or night in space, so all Imperial vessels share a common timezone, you've been awake since 0330 and its 1900 right now." Almost on Que, the girl yawned loudly. He smiled, simply nodding before taking his leave.

* * *

 **Inquisitorial Rose**

* * *

Time had flown aboard the Imperial vessel faster than she'd initially thought, and now was left tired from her day's activities. Though she supposed she shouldn't be surprised, time does happen to fly when you're being productive.

As she undressed for bed, she thought back to her encounter, and all the other possible outcomes that could've taken place. As far as random encounters goes, and the many, many possible endings she could've thought of she considered herself very fortunate. Sure, the initial start was a bit rocky, and she most certainly did not enjoy having a gun pressed to her head, but as she found herself now, she was training to be, for all intents and purposes, above the nobility of a massive, galaxy spanning human empire...

"Heh... not bad... not bad at all Ruby Rose. Go me." Ruby said tiredly, removing her boots and setting them in their proper place. She'd first hung up her cloak and taken her corset off (the latter which she'd only then realized was somewhat heavy), before removing her armored skirt and setting that down as neatly as she could beside her corset. Lastly was simply to take off her gloves, which she set on her dresser, and her shirt and bracers, the former being hung up as it wasn't too heavy for a hanger, and the latter being set down beside her gloves.

Looking in the dresser, she was pleased to find that all her clothes had indeed been delivered, her normal outfit as well having been further cleaned up and neatly stored for her. However, she wasn't pleased to find that she had no sort of sleepwear readily available aside from the lingerie she was currently in, though on that note she was relieved that it seemed the Archmagos took the liberty to copy it enough times that she'd have enough for every day of the week.

Shrugging, she supposed that how she presently was wasn't really inappropriate sleepwear, though she might later ask for a nightgown or something. So, cracking her stiff neck, she lifted the covers, and slipped under them. It less than a minute to fall asleep in the bed so incredibly comfortable, and so she fell into a deep sleep as the ship began its jump...

* * *

 _Opening her eyes, she her view was held up by the sight of a ruined city cloaked in a gentle, misty fog before her. Oddly enough, the scene felt familiar to her, not out of place nor discomforting, but just... as is. Neutrality. Yet as it was, she found herself scanning over the ruins with immense scrutiny, as though she was attempting to burn enemies out of hiding with her intense. No such thing came forth, only the howling wind greeted her. She closed her eyes a moment, as if trying to picture something before her aside from the emptiness of the desolate, abandoned and ruined city._

 _Something in her, she did not know what, but it urged her to turn around. Doing as her inner self told her, she faced toward a warrior clad in red, their left shoulder pad was enlarged, and held some strange insignia on it that she did not recognize. The helm of the warrior was nowhere to be found, but the armored individual wore a face she should have felt welcoming. This warrior wore her sister's face, but her eyes were blood red and her hair burned brighter than she'd ever seen. Ruby should have felt comforted, seeing her sister, but instead, only felt disgust and hatred, a feeling she was sure was mirrored in her sister. Ruby watched as Yang drew a Daisho from her side, twirling the blade in one hand and entering an offensive stance._

 _Ruby, oddly enough, instinctively reached down on and drew a Crusader Sword from her hip, twirling the blade in one hand as she brought it around to point the tip at her sister. The two narrowed their gazes on each other, before kicking off and closing the distance nigh instantly. Their blades crossed and sparks flew as the two almost instinctively pushed off from each other. The air around her felt heavy, and the fog had begun shifting from its gentle blue-grey to heavier, black and shades of red. Immediately with this shift, Yang had ducked low and broke out into a swift dash toward Ruby, ending with a blindingly fast upward slash. Ruby caught the blade on her own effortlessly, letting the blade slide up and get stuck against her crossguard before roughly shoving it aside and kicking her sister square in the face, sending the older girl down to earth._

 _Yang managed to catch herself and break into a roll, before pushing off and lunging back toward Ruby once more, swinging downward in hopes to catch her sister in the neck. The younger girl ducked under the blade and lunged past her sister, slashing low and catching Yang in the back of her knees, bringing the older girl down. Quicker than her mind could comprehend, Ruby spun back around, bringing her blade with her and cutting off her older sister's arm at the elbow, before ending her spin and lunging forward, burying blade in Yang's chest._

 _Ruby's eyes narrowed on her sister, as the fallen, older girl's face shifted from rage to stoicism, before closing her eyes and fading to dust. Ruby, unmoved by the display, turned once more and lowered her blade, only to behold large stone brick staircases, stretching far, far beyond her comprehension, the steps littered with bodies along the way, the end leading to a bright, golden light piercing through the dark, black and red fog._

 _Ascending the stairs, the first body leading up the steps was interestingly enough, herself. Her classic outfit donned and no wound visible, yet there laid her own, youthful body still, splayed upon the staircase. Continuing her trek, the next corpse wore a face she did not recognize, but was clad in Space Marine power armor, and like the previous body, it laid still, splayed across the stairs and lying still._

 _For some time, she continued her trek up the stairs, examining every body to see if any she could recognize, and yet none she could. The stairway was shared by both mortal men and Space Marines, the latter interestingly enough making up the majority of the fallen, and like the first two, all remained the same, chest up with no visible wounds but exposed faces. Some of the Space Marines were clad in Terminator Armor, some in artificer armor as well. Eventually, she came to an exception to the supposed rule, in the form of her mentor. His body lay still across the stairs, a wound that could've only been caused by a weapon such as a daisho piercing through his heart, and several slash marks across his armor biting into his flesh. On the other side of the stairs, there stood her sister, Pyrrha, and Ren, all wearing the armor Yang had previously and still yet donned, all brandishing the blades that killed her mentor, all dripping with his blood._

 _She moved her had forward, reaching out to touch them, only for her hand to simply phase through. She was taken aback by this, but carried on nonetheless. The previous rule seemed present once more, with corpses lining the stairs, all wearing faces she didn't recognize._

 _Eventually, the previous scene repeated itself, a Space Marine Terminator lied still, with his breastplate torn open and his organs blasted apart. He wore Jaune's face, and across from him stood Nora, lightning claws in one had and a daemonic maul in the other, and brandished a sadistic grin across her face. She looked away, not wanting to face any more, and began to sprint up the stairs, eventually coming to the rest of her team. Both Blake and Weiss were armored like her mentor's Scions, yet neither held any wounds across them, and no lone figures stood triumphant on the other side._

 _Spooked beyond everything, she turned around to run away, only to see the path behind her had vanished. Gasping, she looked back up, thankful to see the path forward still remained. She resumed her sprint further, going faster and faster. Eventually, she passed a figure, Nora, impaled through the side of her waist and out the left side of her neck on a pike, with a figure she recognized as herself walking away on the other side of the stairs, glowing a silver hue. Further up she went passing many more bodies, some she recognized from home, others not, before she reached the top._

 _At the top, she was mistaken, did not quite reach into the light, but rather lead to a long hallway. More corpses were held up on pikes, but unlike before, these weren't solely humans or Astartes. There were Orks, Tau, Eldar, and mutants among the humans and fallen Astartes. Yet unlike the fallen before, these did not wear clean clothes or imperial uniform, and the Astartes bore the 8-pronged star of the cultist she'd killed her first day in this galaxy. These, her subconscious told her, were traitors._

 _For what seemed like eternity, she wandered the long hall, and eventually came across some braziers that caught her attention. The braziers held Imperial decor, but above their silver flames was an orb that she came to quickly recognize as a planet. Much to her own horror despite all behind her, there were sixteen braziers, all holding their own world above them. Speeding up as she passed the worlds, not sparing them a glance. She finally came to the end of the hall, to which Yang, Pyrrha and Ren lied still across the floor, beyond them, a staircase of light leading once more unto the golden light... Yet unlike the halls and the staircase of stone bricks, these steps of light held no corpses upon them, instead every ten or so stood two Golden Guardians on either side that she could not recognize._

 _Once more ascending the steps, she eventually had to shield her eyes, as the light grew brighter and brighter. The light began to burn, as though judging her with immense scrutiny. Still, Ruby pressed on, further and further, with the burning light escalating and intensifying more and more with every step, all until she'd been brought to her knees, and was forced to crawl up under the burning light._

 _For what felt like hours, She pressed on, all the way until she reached the top. As soon as she did, the burning light ceased, and everything became clearer. Before her sat a golden throne, yet occupied by a golden figure, mostly skeletal with one bionic eye, sheathed in silver light akin to her own. She was tempted to press forward once more, but before she could, the skeleton's eye flashed, and light consumed her once more, this time, there was no resisting, as she was burned to dust on the spot._

 _But before she faded, some words with contradicting meaning burned in her vision, simply reading..._

 _"That which seems Certain Now may be Impossible Tomorrow"_

* * *

Ruby shot up with a gasp. She had woken up in cold sweat, and ran her hands over her face to find her skin rather clammy. She was hard of breath, and breathing deeply, forcing herself to regain control. after a few minutes, she stood up and looked around, finding a smaller door to her left that she assumed might be a bathroom. Hurriedly, she rushed herself into the bathroom, turned on the lights and looked in the mirror. She was pleased that it was indeed a bathroom, but that wasn't what concerned her. Looking into her own eyes, she didn't see anything abnormal besides her skin glazed with sweat and her hair a mess.

She sighed, before turning on the water on the sink and splashing some across her face, whilst finally getting her breathing under control, ending in a quiet, extended exhale of air as she looked at herself in the mirror...

"A Nightmare... It was just a nightmare... but..." Ruby spoke, reassuring herself. Sighing, she straightened her posture and looked hard into her reflection's eyes once more. "But nothing. It was a nightmare, nothing more, nothing less. You've had them before, this is nothing new. You had one like it when you entered Signal, and so did you on your first night sharing your dorm, and those empty premonitions didn't come to pass..." Ruby said, somewhat faltering somewhat at the end...

"But... never has a nightmare been so vivid- No! Just another nightmare... You'll be fine, you'd never kill Yang, she'd never kill someone so close to you, and she would never try to kill you! This is just you worrying about what you don't need to fear. Everything. Will. Be. Fine." Ruby finalized, successfully reassuring herself. Looking in the mirror, she smiled grimly, before pushing herself off the sink and exiting the bathroom.

She looked about, noticing a small digital clock on her desk reading out "0650." She'd slept for a decent amount of time, and decided now was a good time to rise and shine. Going back into the bathroom, she did her morning routines, that being of some light application of makeup, doing her hair and brushing her teeth after a fifteen minute shower. The water was a bit colder than she generally enjoyed it, but it didn't bother her.

Exiting the bathroom once more, she noticed it was still only 0730, so decided it wouldn't hurt to start the morning off with some breakfast. Calmly walking over to the intercom, she remembered that Terminus had said it was set to the kitchen by default, so she touched her finger to the button and began to speak...

"Uh-uhmmm... Hello?"

 _"What can I do fer ya Mi'lady?"_ Immediately came a loud, jovial response over the Vox, startling Ruby slightly.

"Ah geez! You scared me... didn't expect such a quick... or loud, response."

 _"Hehe, Comes with the job, Mi'lady! Ready to answer atta moment's no'ice! Now, can I git ya anythin' Me'lady?"_

"Ah, yes... I was uhh... wondering if You had anything I could eat for Breakfast?"

 _"Why certainly Me'lady! What tickles yer fancy this fine Marnin'? I've got sum fresh Grox meat on the hooks an' some other, foiner delicacies! I can treat ya with food to impress a noblemin ar I can give ya some common hive-junk yer average civil'yan would eat!"_

"Umm... I guess I'll have the finer stuff? I don't really know the foods of this place so just... could you make me a dish with good breakfast stuff?"

 _"Aye, I can do ye that! I'll give ya what good ol' Inquisitar Terminus always has in the marnings! How do ya take yer coffee, lass?"_

"Cream and-"

 _"And five sugars?"_

"Y-yeah, how'd you-"

 _"Me'Lady, I've been at this job since befar the inquisitar's mentor's mentor's mentor was born! I had an inkling feeling of how ya took yer coffee the moment I saw them take ya off that Valkyrie gunship, sleeping like a newbarn! Trust me, I probably know yer palette better than you yerself do!"_ Ruby gave a small laugh. The lead Chef was a pretty lively guy, she thought, before returning response.

"Hah, okay, whatever you think I'll like best then. I'll trust your instincts."

 _"Aye, Me'Lady! Gimme and me boys fifteen minutes, You'll have a meal done to parfection on yer table in No-time!"_ The man stated loudly, before shutting off the Vox unit.

Ruby, now left in her room of total silence, quietly walked over to her dresser to get dressed. She was completely redressed in yesterday's outfit within five minutes, and smiled in satisfaction as once more she donned her cloak, far more comfortable than before and far more regal-looking. The new clothes were nice, and the boots were more comfortable than her last... granted, her last boots were just some random boots from a military surplus store in Vale that she dyed, as opposed to her current boots being tailored specifically for her.

"Tailored specifically for me... heh, who am I, Weiss?" Ruby joked to herself, waltzing over and plopping down on the couch, kicking her feet up on the other end. She closed her eyes and let her imagination wander a bit.

Before she could unintentionally doze off, a knock came on the door, taking her out of her own imagining.

"Come in!" Ruby yelled, the door opening to reveal a man dressed in fatigues and an apron, holding a large tray filled up with food. Quicker than she anticipated, he rushed over and set down the tray on the coffee table for her, before bowing politely, and taking his leave.

The food looks all so mouth-watering to Ruby. There was bread, still fresh, warm and fluffy right out of the oven, what looked like a grilled and seasoned fish of some kind Ruby didn't know, five strips of what looked like a thicker bacon, mashed potatoes with gravy already drizzled over it, pancakes with syrup and butter, an assortment of fruits she couldn't identify, and to top it all off, there was three wide slices of what she assumed was ham each about a centimeter thick. Eagerly, she grabbed her fork, and began to close in on her food, but not before a knife buried itself firmly in her pancakes, ripping her attention away from her food and towards the thrower.

In the doorway, her adoptive father stood, leaning against the door with a smug grin. He simply waved one finger back and forth while shaking his head...

"My my my, Ruby, have you no faith? You must pray before you eat!" He lightly chided, getting once more a confused look out of the girl.

"But... I'm not religious?" Ruby asked awkwardly.

"Ah-ah-ah! Don't go saying something like that near anyone from the Ecclesiarchy, you'll be branded a heretic if you're not a Space Marine! Fortunately, I'm actively aware of your situation, and I have someone aboard who can help with this! Don't worry, she's not super uptight, otherwise I wouldn't have her here... but just take her seriously, trust me." Terminus stated, before touching his hand to his ear and speaking...

"Aestas?.. Yes, I'm in need of you... You're busy? What the hell is that supposed to mean, you hardly do anything around here besides praying and blessing stuff!.. OKAY! Okay! I take that back!.. Look, This girl, my adoptive daughter and Protege, needs your help, she doesn't know of the Emperor yet... No, you haven't met her yet... what does she look like? That's a bizarre req-... Okay, fine!" He yelled the last part. Looking directly at Ruby, he started listing characteristics... "Black hair, turns red at the end... Silver eyes... kinda looks like you... Her name is Ruby Rose, why?" He went silent for a bit, making Ruby a bit concerned. Finally after about a minute, he sighed. "Alright, I'll be down there shortly, want me to take her with me?... No? Okay, I'll let her eat then." He finished, before looking down at Ruby. "Looks like you lucked out, kiddo. Our Missionary from Terra wants to see me, and me alone right now. I'll be back later... hopefully with our Missionary in tow." With that done, he turned on his heels and walked out, wondering what exactly that crazy girl wanted...

* * *

After about thirty minutes, he'd arrived at the Chapel, finding it unusually vacant save for Aestas standing where the Priests usually stood tapping her foot so fast he was concerned she might wear a hole into the floor. Walking up to the girl, he noticed that her white hood was drawn back, revealing her neatly trimmed black and red hair, and leaving her face uncovered from shadows and revealing eyes of silver... which immediately set off dozens of alarms in his head. Aestas never drew back her hood, she just didn't do that.

"Hey, Aestas... Might I just say, your hair looks lovely toda-"

"Enough! Why didn't you tell me about her?!." Aestas immediately blew up on him.

"...okay... You're still the only person in the galaxy that I genuinely fear, and let me tell you, that personality looks Beautiful on You!" he said with a nervous chuckle. The smaller lady growled, not amused with his usual antics. "O-okay... so we're on this note today... Look, I genuinely don't know why you're so upset about this. She just got here yesterday morning, I was gonna tell you about her when I introduced you two."

"Tell me, what's my name?" Aestas growled at him, clearly only getting more upset

"Ummm... Aestas Surrexerunt?" He answered, confused.

"Now, I know you're the only one here that knows what world I'm from, after all, we're both from there. Tell me the name of our Birth World again, would you?"

"Remnant... I lied to her about not knowing of it, but not that it's inaccessible from this galaxy." he replied, not quite knowing where this was going...

"Good. Now tell me, do you know what "Surrexerunt" translates to, backwards from High Gothic to Low?" The lady growled out the last part of her question.

"Of course I know what it translates to, I'm not some gutter rat any longer! It translates to-... Oh..." Terminus started, but then the realization finally dawned on him...

"And let me ask you one last question, Peter... What did I say I'd named my daughter, back on Remnant?"

"..."

A loud slap echoed through the room, and Peter's head was actually turned aside with a furious shade of red spreading across his left cheek. It stung, but he'd experienced and weathered far worse...

"Y'know, you're the only person who can get away with slapping me like that... You do know that makes you abusive, right?"

"Shut up, Peter! If you'd been a half-decent Inquisitor, you would've connected the dots the moment you heard her name!"

"Oh, Don't give me that! I'm a GREAT Inquisitor! One of the Best! I just wasn't thinking about YOU when I'd met her! I was thinking about what MY mentor would have done in that situation!" Terminus yelled back. Immediately, his collar was roughly grabbed and pulled down, forcing him to be at her level as her forehead bumped against his, the former growling angrily, sounding incredibly feminine and cute yet also terrifying to him...

"U-uhm... Well..." he started, a bit nervous, so deciding to try and inject some humor into the situation to ease it a bit...

"Well, I thought we only got THIS close to each other every Saturday night when nobodies watching!" He tried with a smug grin, being rewarded with a vicious headbutt what sent him to the ground. "Ow!... Okay, yeah, I deserved that... but of all the deadly things we face down in this horrible galaxy, I swear, you're gonna be the thing that does me in some day!" He exclaimed, looking at the lady who's fist was shaking violently...

"Look, first, you were holding out on me with VITALLY important information... second, I haven't see that girl in Eleven Years! I'm a bit livid right now!" She said slowly, trying to cool off a bit.

"Yeah... I kinda got that last part... look, I get it, you're pissed. I would be too in your place... but before you see her, I think you need to cool off a bit." In response, the lady merely sighed. A moment later, she reached down, grabbing him by his wrist and hoisting him onto his feet.

"Sorry..." She said, timidly wrapping herself in her cloak.

"There's nothing to be sorry for, Aestas. If you'd responded differently and I knew such information beforehand, I would have been sorely disappointed in you... Now... It is Saturday, isn't it?" He said, smugly at the end...

"Don't be so full of yourself, Pete! You'll wait til 2130, like always! No sooner, no later!" Aestas said, a mischievous smirk adorning her face. It was times like this, that always made the Inquisitor question what exactly right or wrong he'd done in this or a previous life that bestowed upon him such a blessing/curse in the form of that woman...


	4. A Taste for Blood

A few hours had then passed since the Inquisitor took his leave of Ruby, and left the girl waiting. Eventually, she decided, long after finishing her food, to wander the ship a bit, get her bearings and learn her way around. After all, this ship was her new home, so might as well get the lay of the land, right?

So she began wandering, silently wondering just how large this ship actually was, and just how many facilities it could possibly house. It wasn't until about an hour into wandering around that she realized just how epic in scale the ship must've been, having already passed through at least three dozen facilities and the ship showing no sign of ending. After a second hour, she'd figured out that she was completely lost.

Sighing, she just continued to wander aimlessly, hoping to maybe find something or someone who might be able to tell her where exactly she was. After about fifteen more minutes, she had found someone, though not who she was expecting to find...

 **"Who are you, Girl, and why do you plague these halls with your presence?"** The very, very large man in power armor spoke, his voice deepened and given a metallic ring through his mask. Ruby saw he was not a Space Marine, but he wasn't an Inquisitor either. He couldn't be Sororitas either, so she knew he must just be some highly valued warrior of the Imperium, perhaps part of Inquisitor Terminus's retinue...

"I-I'm Ruby Rose... I'm just ah... a bit lost... could you help me find my way back to my room? It's in the same area as Inquisitor Terminus's room." She answered, though not getting nearly the response she wanted...

 **"Why should I care if some random whore the Inquisitor brings aboard gets lost in the bowels of the ship? You're obviously of no value, perhaps I should simply leave you to starve down here."** he growled, taking Ruby off guard with his insult. Ruby, though startled, quickly recollected herself and returned his growl, taking a step closer to whoever this stranger was...

"Why I- I am the Inquisitor's adoptive daughter and protege! I'm not gonna tolerate this attitude of yours, mister!" She growled back, stepping close enough and poking the power armored warrior in the breastplate. The warrior, as though realizing his mistake after looking closer at her attire and her admission, quickly backed down, bending to one knee...

 **"By the Emperor... Apologies, Lady Inquisitor! Lord Terminus has me sweeping the bowels of this ship during our Warp Travel, I did not know you'd be coming down here..."** he apologized quickly, his voice somewhat wavering as he did so. Ruby was taken off guard once again by his very sudden change. Sighing, she gestured for him to rise back up, to which the warrior promptly did...

"It's cool, I guess. Just don't make the mistake again, please." Ruby said, and heard a small sigh of relief come from the power-armored warrior. "Anyways, I am still lost. Could you perhaps lead me back to my room?"

 **"Apologies, Lady Inquisitor, but I cannot lead you up to your room. Leaving this section of the ship would be in direct violation of Terminus's orders."** Came his reply, bumming Ruby out a bit and making her lower her head in disappointment. **"I can, however, lead you to tram in this section, if you so wish."**

"Ah! Yes, that would be perfect, thank you!" Ruby said loudly and with glee. The soldier nodded, before gesturing for her to follow. For around ten or fifteen minutes, Ruby quietly followed the man, eventually exiting out into a large room, which to Ruby honestly looked mostly like a storehouse. Very tall racks filled to the brim with supplies went up nearly to the ceiling far above them, and there were catwalks above her as well, holding quite a few people as they walked back and forth across them.

 **"Stick close. These workers have been rather hostile of late, even more so since their attempted murder of a few of the Space Marines aboard this ship."** The soldier said quietly, with the girl involuntarily pulling a bit closer to the power-armored soldier. Sure enough, on the scaffolding around the racks some of the large men looked down on the two of them, many snarling loudly and scowling down at the two as they slowly stalked towards them. Ruby, with her keen eyes, easily saw the slight glints of light off blades mostly concealed behind the men looking down at them. Instinctively, she reached back to grab _Crescent Rose_ , only to suddenly realize it wasn't on her person. Paling slightly, she gulped and curled her hands into fists, widening her stance.

 **"BACK YOU IDIOTS!"** the soldier boomed, pulling up the plasma gun slung over his shoulder. **"The Lady Inquisitor is present! You'd do well to remember your places!"** Ruby winced slightly at the volume of his voice, before feeling a slight bump on her thigh. Looking down, she'd noticed he was handing her his hellpistol. She took it without a word, and held it with both hands as she eyed the workers nervously.

Barely a second later, she felt herself shoved aside, as a large wooden crate fell down, coming down straight on the soldier who'd shoved her...

* * *

 **Inquisitorial Rose**

* * *

Ruby was shocked to see the crate shatter over him, not even phasing him as he once more leveled his gun forward. Looking back around, she'd noticed the workers around them had begun sprinting in _their_ direction. Keeping her head on a swivel, she watched as the soldier fired, blasting apart a worker rushing them with an axe and immolating six more near him.

Following his example, she, while still on the ground, straightened out and leveled the gun on worker rushing her, and pulled down on the trigger. The laser blasted in one way and out the other on the assailant, blasting one of his comrades behind him in the face, killing both instantly.

Quickly rushing to her feet, she mentally told herself she'd worry about however many she'd ended up killing right now later, and blasted another through the chest. Hearing some rushed, heavy footfalls above her, she snapped her arm up and leveled her gun on a man tossing a crate over the railings before firing and forcing him to fall back, his head missing from the powerful blast. She watched as the headless corpse slumped back, shaking the catwalk as hes body fell.

Eight more rushed at her, though they mostly met the same fate. It wasn't until another worker rushed her with a farming scythe that she let herself grin. A scythe was just the tool she needed to teach these men not to mess with her. Rushing forward, she ducked under a wide swipe with the scythe before kicking the back of the man's knee, forcing him down. She threw herself back-to-back with the man, before kicking off and spinning to the right as she deftly let a makeshift spear pierce her previous opponent's back and exit out his chest, before kicking the next attacker hard in the shin, forcing him back before leveling the pistol on his head and blasting it to bits.

Pulling her hand back to level the pistol beside her waist, with her left hand she reached back, ripping the scythe out of the impaled man's grip and swinging it around in a wide arc, decapitating four assailants in her sweep and impaling a fifth through the ribs, piercing his heart. Resting her arm holding the gun on her overextended arm holding the scythe, she used her wrist to steady the gun, and fired off three more quick bursts, killing four and wounding a fifth.

Yanking the scythe out from the dead man's chest, she tossed her handgun up in the air, before quickly swapping hands with the scythe and catching the hellpistol with her left. Using her semblance, she rushed forward and swung the tool at an angle, cutting through about nine more opponents, some killed, others chopped off at the foot, ankle, thigh or waist. Ending with a small spin to set herself straight, she ducked low and rammed her pistol into the abdomen of another assailant, firing and blowing open a fist-sized hole through his stomach.

The corpse was yanked off her from a much larger worker, who instead of drawing back with a weapon, merely stepped forward within the small gap and delivered a savage headbutt, knocking the girl onto her back. Looking up, she didn't have enough time to reach as a boot met her face, kicking her back down. Slightly dazed from the blow, she hardly realized the soldier in Power Armor rushing forward and punching the man across the face, a loud snap accompanying the blow as the man's head snapped backwards and his jaw was pulverized.

The soldier, looking at the downed inquisitor, dropped to a knee and fired over the girl, vaporizing a dozen more traitors with the blast, before throwing himself back, his elbow extended outwards as he smashed an assailant behind him in the face and dropping him to the ground. He ended the fallen fighter with one swift, savage stomp on his head, popping it like a cherry. He'd registered that at this point the girl had risen up once more, but would understandably be a bit dazed and/or confused, so he took the fight back into his control. Tightening the sling on his plasma gun, he pulled his power sword from it's sheath and drew his own plasma pistol from it's holster.

Ducking under an axe swinging for his neck, he slipped behind the man, bringing his blade around and through the worker's stomach, bisecting the man, before lunging forward and impaling two more through their chests. Taking another step forward, he slammed his shoulder into the first corpse whilst ripping the blade out, sending the corpses tumbling back down into their scrambling comrades who died a second later from an overcharged plasma blast. The blast instantly killed another twelve tightly packed men, and horrifically scorched four more who fell to the ground screaming. He laughed deeply as the few remaining workers who'd rushed them started backing off.

There were seven, he'd counted, who tried to back up and fade into the crowd of the more loyal workers, only to get pushed back out of the crowd. It was around that time that Ruby had completely regained her bearings, shaking her head a bit before looking up at him. He simply nodded at her, before looking back at the traitors, whom were on their knees begging for mercy. With a sigh, he sheathed his power sword and holstered his plasma pistol, and looked at Ruby.

 **"Lady Inquisitor, if you wouldn't mind, could you watch these men and make sure they don't try anything? I'll contact Inquisitor Terminus..."** He said, before walking back a bit and touching his finger to the side of his helmet. Ruby, however, was now left facing the seven men pleading for their lives. She would grant them mercy, but she somehow knew that her new adoptive father wouldn't be so kind or forgiving.

* * *

"So, you're meaning to tell me that after you told them to get back, they dropped a crate on you, and rushed you with a plethora of makeshift weapons?" Terminus said, glaring down the seven men who'd surrendered with enough intensity to make any man lesser than he shiver and shake in their boots.

 **"Yes, Lord Inquisitor. I had encountered your protege, who told me she was lost. I was leading her through here to get to the tram, when they encroached and assaulted us. We defended ourselves well, I think."**

"True enough, though I especially don't appreciate that they'd knowingly assaulted an Inquisitor. That there is Heresy." The Missionary cut in. "They should be burned on the stake for what they've done."

"Perhaps so, Aestas... but there may be something to learn from this..." Terminus said, before stepping forward and grabbing one of the traitors by the throat. "Tell me, little rat? Why did you assault my favorite guardsman and my protege, huh? Think you could pull a fast one on e'm, did ya? Gotta say, that's pretty ballsy for someone as pathetic as you..." he growled while steadily increasing the pressure of his grip on the mans throat, before shoving him back down. "Lieutenant Carter? Get your Stormtroopers down here and escort these traitors to the Astartes. After all, I've heard that that Interrogator Chaplain from the Dark Angles can be very... persuasive." His words were met with gruff, coarse laughter from the Lieutenant, whom Ruby thought as she watched him leave the room, the Power Armored warrior finally being given a name.

She looked back and forth, at the servitors cleaning up the mess the combat had left behind and at the walls that gave no answers to her as to _why_ the workers had attacked them. Sighing, she looked to Terminus, to find him smiling darkly, with upper half of his face cloaked in darkness from his hat. He just chuckled darkly, before starting to clap, and turn his attention to his protege.

"Well, you handled yourself well, I must say. Not perfectly, and I'd be expecting more from a trained Inquisitor... But given the circumstances, I'd say you defended yourself admirably." The man smiled, looking down on ruby who only dropped her own gaze to the panels at her feet...

"I dunno... A lot of life was just... wasted. I wish there could've been a peaceful resolution... I don't even know why they attacked us..." Ruby stated with slumped shoulders and a saddened tone.

"Hey, chin up! They attacked, you defended. That's all there is to it. They're dead, and you are not. The seven survivors will be... convinced... yes, convinced to tell us their reasons behind attacking. When we find the root of the problem, we'll deal with it, but until then, there's very little we can do except wait... and don't let these deaths get you down. You've entered into a galaxy that knows only war, in a civilization that just so happens to excel more than any others at it! You'll want to desensitize yourself to killing if ya wanna survive." He stated boldly, before looking to the Missionary in white, Ruby caught her name as Aestas. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she seemed... familiar... But she couldn't tell, the woman's face was, for the most part, veiled in the darkness her white cloak provided over her face.

"Aestas, this is my protege I'd told you about, Ruby Rose. Say 'hello', Ruby."

"U-uhm... Hello, it's good to meet you." Ruby tried to say as politely as possible. The Missionary chuckled, nodding back as she did so. not a moment later, she extended her hand out towards Ruby, gesturing for the girl to take it...

"Ruby, you'll be going with Aestas for now, and at 2030, you'll be escorted back to your room." And with that, the Inquisitor left, leaving no room for argument. Sighing once more, she looked at the white-clad lady, her hand still extended. Hesitantly, she took the hand in her own, surprised to feel just how gentle this person was with their grip...

"Come, my girl." She said in a friendly, but firm voice. "It is time you're shown the Emperor's light..."

* * *

The cathedral she'd brought her to was glorious, and Ruby felt awed by the architecture, design, general ascetics of the room and the two grand statues of what she'd been told were depictions of the Emperor. The room was bathed in a warm light from candles and chandeliers above her, reminding her of the holiday season back home and making her feel most welcome. There were at least twelve rows of pews on either side of the main walkway leading up to the main alter, with a few people in any given row silently praying.

"Ruby Rose, I believe I should introduce myself properly, don't you agree?" Aestas said to the girl she'd led here. Ruby nodded meekly, and looked up in proper at the older lady. "My name is Aestas Surrexerunt. I am a Missionary of the Ecclesiarchy from Holy Terra... let me just say, it fills me with boundless joy to see you ag- ah... I mean, it is a pleasure to meet you." She introduced herself, her voice noticeably cracking near the end.

"The uh... the pleasure is mine, Miss. I'm Ruby Rose, the adoptive daughter and protege of Inquisitor Terminus." Ruby replied, still shook from her encounter earlier.

"He'd told me you hailed from a world called Remnant... would you mind telling me about your family, friends, and this schola you supposedly went to?"

Ruby stiffened a bit, but quickly composed herself before replying. "Well... I went to an academy for warriors, Beacon Academy, but before I went there I was training at Signal... kinda like a proving ground to find who would and wouldn't go to a primary academy... I was the leader of a team, team RWBY, consisting of myself, my half-sister, my partner Weiss Schnee, and my sister's partner Blake Belladonna." Aestas's eyes watered a bit under the veil of shadows covering her face. Ruby had attended Beacon with Yang? And two years ahead? She could hardly believe it...

"And your family? What of them?" The girl got a little uneasy when that was brought up, but continued.

"Well... I was raised on the island of Patch, off the coast of Vale. My Mom and Dad built a house there. Good sized, I'd lived there my entire life... my mom and I were close, almost total look-alikes, too. She wore a white cloak, like yours, and her name was Summer Rose..." Ruby stopped for a moment, wiping a tear from her eye. "She was... well... supermom. Baker of delicious cookies and slayer of monsters... but when I was four, she departed on a mission. That wasn't unusual but... this time she didn't come back. Dad was really shaken by that, just kinda shut down for a few years. Yang took care of me for the most part, and Uncle Qrow taught me how to fight, and properly use my scythe! I was total garbage until he helped me out..."

"I see..." Aestas said, looking away some. It was difficult, hiding her pride in Ruby's accomplishment. She wanted to just break this false identity and coddle Ruby, hold her like she had last held her eleven years ago... but she masked it all. She'd let Ruby find out who she really was, all in due time. For now, it would be better that she not be distracted. After all, Ruby's training and tutoring from Terminus took top priority over her personal feelings of the matter. When the time was right, she'd reveal herself... then again, that time might well be whenever Ruby learned the language and connected the dots.

"Well... I did bring you here for a reason." She said, wiping tears from her eyes. "It's time you saw the Emperor's light, my child... please, take a seat." Aestas finished, gesturing to a pew and bringing out her book. She'd teach Ruby of the Emperor and his majesty, even if she had to spend the next twenty years on such...

* * *

Twelve hours passed of preaching, of questions asked and answers given. Ruby still wasn't sure about this "Emperor" guy, though she wasn't unaware that she need revere the him. The sole true master of an empire spanning over half the galaxy... the sheer scale of it all wasn't totally lost on her.

This person, Aestas, Ruby still couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity of her. Nevertheless, she listened, and she learned from the kind, older lady. She felt something after all of it was done, but she didn't know quite what. She supposed the feeling might be enlightenment or something, but she honestly wouldn't know, so she didn't pay it much heed.

After returning to her room, she found herself markedly hungry, and after some consideration, used the vox unit on the wall to call the kitchen and ask for whatever it was Terminus had ordered for them the other day. While eating said meal, she continued her studies on High Gothic independently, idly interesting herself with the language. It wasn't until about another hour into her studies that the door to her room opened, revealing Inquisitor Terminus in his usual black power armor, who silently stalled over to Ruby's desk to see the fruits of her labor.

"Hm. You're making good progress. Keep it up." He said, patting Ruby on the shoulder.

"Ah, thanks! Learning a new language all on my own is kinda difficult though..."

"Chin up, you'll learn the language in due time... now, it's late. Get some rest, we'll be doing combat training tomorrow." He stated, before pivoting on his heel and starting out the door, though not before being stopped...

"W-wait! I just realized today that I... well... what did you guys do with _Crescent Rose_?" Ruby pleaded, almost desperately.

"Hm? Oh, the scythe? I mean, I guess it's sharp, but as far as blades go we thought it was relatively crude, not even a power weapon. I guess I can ask the techpriests what they did with it once it was handed off."

"Y-yes, please do... _Crescent Rose_ is my baby... means so much to me..." Terminus nodded quietly, before touching the vox unit and talking to the techpriests.

"Oi, what did you guys do with the scythe?"

 _"That crude red one? We're about to scrap it, it's useless."_ Terminus notes how his new daughter seemed to get even more distraught at that notion.

"Well it just so happens that the scythe you're about to scrap is very precious to our new Inquisitor Rose. If you would, please bring it up here... unaltered."

 _"Really? This lousy piece of gar-"_

"Just please bring it up, it's very important to me!" Ruby cut in, her voice one of sheer desperation. For a few more minutes, there was just silence, before about fifteen seconds had passed, the techpriest sighing in capitulation.

 _"Fine, we'll bring up the scythe. But that weapon is useless. The metals are all weak, it would snap on contact with a plasteel power sword."_ The priest declared, before cutting out.

It was about twenty minutes later that the scythe was brought in by a servitor, still in the same bloodied state that it was in from the night she'd met Terminus. Her face was one of utter glee as she readily snatched her scythe away from the servitor, coddling the weapon against her chest. The Inquisitor gave a small laugh, before nodding to the girl and taking his leave once more.

After an hour passed, Ruby had finished her shower, usual nighttime routines, and redressing into a nightgown shed found waiting in her dresser. She looked up at the ceiling, for the first time actually taking into account what was above her. It was a mural, beautiful and eloquent, of a golden figure standing triumphant over some monster, angels descending from the heavens above him. Her subconscious immediately told her that this figure must've been the Emperor. She didn't know why, but this brought a smile to her face, eased whatever worries she still had, and helped her ease off to sleep. She'd be damned if she didn't say it were a trying day.


	5. I Need A Weapon

"... and that's the basic rundown of plasma gun usage." Terminus finished, handing the gun to Ruby and pointing down the range. The target was a simple block of metal with a... well, there WAS a target on it, and had already been marked, scorched and now melted with scores of bullet, las, melta and plasma bolts.

It had been about a week since the incident with the workers, and Ruby was still unsure on many things, not that she could coherently put those things to words. Nevertheless, she hefted the Plasma Gun, and leveled the gun downrange. The gun was heavier than she'd expected, and certainly awkward for her to carry, what with the stock being so different to her. Aiming was certainly something that she'd need to get used to with it as well, being so different from Crescent Rose.

With a little bit of pressure on the trigger, she yelped slightly as the gun discharged sooner than she'd anticipated, and a large blast of plasma was loosed into the target at an incredible speed. So it would seem the trigger was lighter than on her rifle as well. Sighing, she looked back towards the target, seeing the block of metal reduced to mere slag. It awed her, the power of such a weapon, and she silently made a note that she REALLY wanted a plasma gun of her own...

"Good shot, though later in the future you'll probably want to speed up the time frame between leveling the gun at your target, pulling the trigger, and still making an accurate shot." Terminus said, patting her on the shoulder twice, before looking back downrange and smirking. "So, which gun do you like best: The Bolter, Plasma Gun, Flamer, Melta Gun, or Graviton Gun?"

"'Graviton Gun'? You never demonstrated such a weapon?" Ruby said, perplexed with the weapon mentioned.

"Is that so? Apologies, then. I'll demonstrate such now." He said, before lifting the weapon in question off the table and showing it to the girl. "This is a Space Marine Graviton Gun, more commonly referred to as just a 'Grav-Gun'. Manipulating the very nature of gravity itself, a Grav-Gun turns a target's mass against it, crushing it to pulp under its own weight. This is especially effective against heavily armored infantry and vehicles... Ah, also, if you only clip a target with this weapon, it can still have a profound effect on your enemy, as the enemy is almost always left stunned by the assault. This is due to the combination of the sudden, sharp shock of being crushed by a giant invisible fist, and the disorienting effect of the distorted gravity field!" The Inquisitor described with excitement and fire in his eyes. "It's also markedly more reliable that a Plasma Gun, and has greater range than a Melta Gun."

"Ah! That's so cool!" Ruby squealed in excitement, before readily taking the gun and looking it all over. Being Space Marine issue, she obviously had quite a bit of trouble handling the massive gun, or that's to say just holding it, in all reality. She heard Terminus chuckle lightly before taking the weapon back and leveling it downrange. With the same ease as he'd shown with all other weapons' usage, Terminus blasted the remains of the block with the grav-gun. A loud sound echoed, reminding Ruby of the engine of a high end car back on Remnant's hybrid dust/electric engine, and a green, fizzling beam shot forth from the barrel of the gun. The walls nearby began to crunch inward, as the beam blasted into the block, and it too crushed in on itself under the large spherical field generated at the contact point, though much more intensely than the walls.

Deciding it was a good enough demonstration, Terminus eased his finger off the trigger, and revealed a toothy grin to the small girl before him. If he'd learned anything about Ruby over the last week, it was that, like himself, she was a huge gun-nut, and she was easily awed by the technology of the Imperium. He couldn't blame her, after all, he and Aestas were the same way when they first found themselves in this galaxy. His personal favorite to use were bolters, followed by volkite weapons as a somewhat distant second. Aestas would marry a flamer if she could, which didn't surprise him, seeing she was in the Ecclesiarchy.

Speaking of the Missionary, he was glad that she'd decided to keep her relationship with Ruby a secret for now. The last thing the girl needed right now was such a large distraction when she needed to be learning. The revelation that the friendly neighborhood Missionary from Terra was actually the mother that the girl had thought dead for eleven years now would certainly fall under the category of such a distraction.

Shaking the thought from his head, he handed the girl the gun, and helped her level it down range, guiding her on proper usage as she lined up the gun. "Okay, so there's an adjustable power setting on these guns. They can range from just strong enough to incapacitate someone, to being strong enough to reduce tanks to crumpled up ruins or to cave in entire bunker complexes with one well-placed shot." He explained, adjusting it to a lower power setting so she wouldn't accidentally hurt herself. "I'd recommend against using higher settings without being fully encased in power armor, as these weapons are powerful enough to harm the user... Now, at this level, you'll feel like your hand is under some pressure, but in time, should you choose to mainly use this weapon, the crushing feeling will be negligible a most."

Ruby nodded, before training her gaze down the sights, and letting rip with the weapon. He was indeed right about the feeling, but she grit her teeth and held down the trigger. It's power was now low enough that the beam didn't crumple the walls like paper, but the field generated at the contact-point of the beam was still crushing matter within it like they were fragile toys within a ludicrously buff guy's iron grip.

Ruby revealed a wide Cheshire grin as she eased her finger off the trigger and lowered the gun. There was something so satisfying about using the gun, and she was excited to be able to bear such a weapon... But it was also missing something...

"This weapon is AMAZING! But... I've no element for melee combat?"

"Don't think I didn't already have that in mind, Ruby. Now, judging by your reaction to using the gun, I'd say you've found a favorite?" Ruby gave an ecstatic nod. "Good. Now, we'll move onto melee weapons tomorrow, as for now it is 21:27. Go now, you should know the way back to your room by now... Goodnight, Ruby."

"'Night uhm... er..." Ruby started, but started struggling a bit as she tried to find the appropriate way of addressing him.

"Terminus is fine, Ruby, you needn't refer to me as your father if it makes you uncomfortable and we're not in public."

"Ah, right... Goodnight, Terminus." Ruby said, giving a small bow before placing the Grav-gun back on the table and returning to her room...

* * *

 **Inquisitorial Rose**

* * *

Ruby laid back on her bed, quietly admiring the mural on the ceiling of the Space Marines. Over the week, she'd learned more of a foreign language within that time than she thought she'd ever learn in her life, and she'd studied even more so of this "Emperor" guy... She was still unsure, truth be told. A figure to hold in great reverence? Certainly. An incredibly powerful figure with unimaginable power? Without a doubt... but a god? She had never been religious, she wasn't raised so. Most of Remnant didn't hold any religion, for that matter.

The idea of there being a "god" was foreign to her, not to say she would try to discredit the belief of such like some she knew back on Remnant seemed so adamant about doing (she remembered Weiss was one such critic). Sighing to herself, she dismissed the thought as she heard the kitchen staff bring her dinner in. She didn't bother looking up at them, now used to the routine.

It was about two or three minutes later that she'd actually decided to pick herself up to eat, spurred on to eat by the grumbling of her stomach. What she'd ordered was a sort of exotic fish, mashed potatoes, assorted fruits, and two slices of what must've been the most delicious bread she'd ever tasted. Thinking of the bread reminded her of a small but embarrassing moment just three days prior, where after biting into said bread while at the table with her new "father," she had, though involuntarily, let slip a loud, orgasmic moan as her taste buds met the delicious bread and left said taste buds in a state of pure ecstasy and bliss. She also had hot chocolate.

This time, though still eagerly biting into the soft slices of heaven, she'd kept better control of herself this time, and DIDN'T moan "like a felinid in heat," as Terminus had phrased it. Now, Ruby didn't quite know what exactly a "Felinid" was, but she was relatively sure that she'd find out eventually.

Shaking away the abstract thought, Ruby quickly finished her meal and headed over to her desk. It had become routine for her to keep a sort of journal was the days passed, summarizing the events of the day, lessons she'd learned, detailing the people around her. On the latter note, she, deciding it wise of someone so aptly titled "Inquisitor," began building up profiles of any noteworthy individuals she'd met. Terminus had approved of such, even giving such a grin as one who'd been given the keys to the world... or she supposed in this case, the galaxy.

Besides that, Ruby had also begun studying her role within the Inquisition, what it meant to be a part of the Ordo Hereticus, and what sort of opposition she chose expect to face in the near future. It was important to know what one was getting into, after all.

"I bet Weiss would kill to be in my shoes right now..." She grumbled, closing her journal as she'd finished her seventh entry. "This whole, 'Upper Class, Fancy-Nancy' thing was her shtick, not mine... ah well, nothing to be done about that, I suppose." The girl stretched in her chair and yawned, moving her head to either side to crack her neck. It was high time for her to go to bed at this point, so she stood up lazily and sauntered towards her bed. Another day of learning entirely foreign concepts had caught up to her, and left her very tired. With no effort whatsoever, the girl plopped down into her bed after changing out into more appropriate nighttime apparel, and instantly fell asleep.

* * *

"Well, I suppose it should be mentioned, Aestas, that your daughter has finally picked her weapon." Terminus said, the missionary in question flanking him on his left side as one of his sororitas stood to his right as they swiftly stalked down the halls towards the Astartes' chambers.

"Has she now? What weapon did she fancy most?" She asked with honest curiosity and intrigue in her eyes.

"Graviton gun. I've commissioned one for her already, the Archmagos should be finished with his work in a few days."

"A Grav gun? I wouldn't have expected that from her. A powerful weapon, to be sure, but I've never seen one effectively used by anyone other than a Space Marine."

"Perhaps, but she is your daughter. I wouldn't imagine effectively utilizing such a weapon is beyond her."

"Hmmm... true enough." She mused, before staring back down the hallway. The rest of the trip was silent, having nothing left to say or discuss, at least until they'd arrived at the Space Marines' quarters.

* * *

After about twenty minutes of walking, they'd arrived at their destination. There were five Space Marines in total, one a Dark Angels Interrogator Chaplin in Terminator Armor, two Black Templars, each a veteran with over three hundred years under their belts and one of them an apothecary, a Librarian from the Blood Ravens, and a Space Wolf, one of their mighty Wolfguard, this one in Terminator Armor.

 **"Lord Inquisitor."** The Chaplin addressed him, his voice deepened and given a metallic ring from his mask. **"You're here about the ambush last week, yes?"**

"Yes, I am. What have you learned, Isaiah?" He inquired, taking a seat next to the Chaplin.

 **"The traitors who attacked your apprentice and the Lieutenant have been found with compromising tattoos. They confessed to being a part of a Tzeentch cult, but they do not know who the cult leader is. They're aboard this ship, going only by the name of 'X'."** The Chaplin summarized, making the Inquisitor furrow his brow.

"Hm. Dangerous, but sloppy. I'll leave this investigation to you and your brothers, if you don't mind?"

 **"Not at all. This X, whoever they may be, and all following them shall face the Emperor's justice before we arrive at the Rift."** Isaiah answered, resting both hands on the shaft of his Crozius.

"Excellent. Ave Imperator." Terminus said, forming the Aquila with his hands, a gesture returned by the Space Marine. Looking back to Aestas, he gave but a nod, and was followed out by the Missionary.

For another ten minutes, they continued back down the way they came, eventually coming across the tram back to the fancier areas of the ship. The boarding of it was silent, with almost nothing to do as they casually waited for the tram to arrive. Aestas, he saw, was more casually reclining in the seat next to him, simply gazing up at the ceiling of the tram during the ride...

"Well... at least we now know who exactly is on our hit list. Any ideas who they could be?" Terminus asked, slinging his arm around the white-cloaked lady.

"I've a few ideas, but I wouldn't be able to identify them by name. Let's leave this investigation to the Astartes, they've got this under control... besides, isn't it about that time for us?" She spoke with a mischievous tone, with Terminus simply pulling the girl closer with an equally matched smirk on his own face.

"Hah, try not to wake the whole ship this time, love." He joked, earning him a slight slap to the back of the head.

"One time, just one time and you pester me about it for the next five years..." Aestas grumbled, burying her face into the lord Inquisitor's shoulder as the man chuckled lightly...

* * *

She awoke with a loud groan as the alarm beside her sang it's most annoying song, signaling the start of a new day. Lazily, she raised her hand up to her eyes to wipe away the crud that built overnight before slapping the alarm, shutting the device up. Looking up, the dimly lit room just barely lit the mural of Space Marines above her, yet oddly enough, it only served to highlight their majesty, bringing a small smile to her lips as she stretched in bed. After about five minutes of lazing, Ruby picked herself up from bed and looked to the clock...

"0700 exact. My next lessons aren't for another five hours..." She mused aloud, moving over to the intercom and ordering some breakfast before plopping down in the chair of her desk, rummaging through a few papers and using notes as reference as she continued to look over the massive tome the Inquisitor had placed in her care. It was interesting, the content of the book, though she'd be lying if she were to say she wasn't at least a little disturbed by the contents, and a little irritated by just how tedious it was to constantly cross-reference with her notes every four or five words.

She chuckled as the memory of Weiss walking in on her passed out atop her bed, her notes spread out across her pillow and beside her after several hours of constant studying. In all reality, this was a pretty similar situation, though with some obvious changes to the story. The similarities lied in someone of high importance placing their faith in her, and her studying to exhaustion so as to prove their faith in her wasn't misplaced, and the changes lied in that there wasn't an uppity heiress breathing down her neck, and this wasn't some innocent schoolgirl work anymore. Before, she was studying to be the leader of a team of hunters. It was innocent, easygoing, the days of carefree youth. And now? Now she was training to be an Inquisitor. From what she'd read, the position she was being raised into was... well... it was as dark as the rest of this dark galaxy she'd been brought into. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the days of innocent carefree youth had come to a most abrupt end.

Sighing, she moved to her meal roughly fifty minutes after it'd arrived, having been so preoccupied with her studies that she'd all but forgotten that she'd ordered food in the first place. The food wasn't cold, on the contrary, it was still a little warm, much to her own surprise, though the food despite not being quite as hot as she'd enjoyed was still far easier to stomach than most of Beacon's cafeteria food, if one could really call it that much.

"Haha... well, I suppose I've been more than a little spoiled these last few days if I'm regarding Beacon's food so lowly! In retrospect the food was pretty good, just compared to this it might as well be regarded as trash, most things back home would be!" Ruby laughed to herself, before quickly downing her glass of water and looking back over towards the clock.

"0830." She said aloud, looking back down at her desk before pulling out her schedule from a cabinet. "Alright, so I've finished my studies, that just leaves physical training which'll be a breeze... and Miss Surrexerunt's service from 0930 to 1130... and finally I'll be getting familiarized with the various elements of melee weaponry of the Imperium from 1200 to 1800." Stowing the piece of paper back in the cabinet, and moving over to her dresser. It only took about five minutes to get dressed into some athletic clothes that the Archmagos had designed for her a few days prior.

The getup was fairly simple, though comfortable just like her new "normal" clothes. A simple black, skintight and waterproof jumpsuit with the seal of the Inquisition on the back, with shoes integrated into the suit. Normally, she'd prefer to just wear the clothes she now normally wore, but part of the physical training was aquatic, and she'd rather not get her regular clothes soaked.

Looking herself up and down in the mirror, she nodded in satisfaction before sprinting out the door and onto the tram. From there, all she needed to was punch in where she wanted to go into the terminal, and she was on her way...

* * *

The workout wasn't too terribly difficult, with most of the training focused on improving her upper body strength. She was deemed suitably strong in the lower body department, something she honestly wasn't at all surprised by. Her fastest sprint broke the sound barrier, so obviously she knew her legs and core were more than a little strong, which was only proven when she maxed out at 420 lbs for her back squat, and 340 lbs for her deadlift (much to her amazement that she was actually able to hold her grip on that much weight). Benchpress for her was a different story, though that much she'd seen coming miles away. She could only max out at around 115 lbs, yet her trainer still wanted her to punch out five sets of five at 105 lbs.

She managed, yet found herself more than a little lightheaded by the end of it. The following task of a 5 kilometer swim AFTER she'd practically murdered her arms was a most daunting task, though through sheer willpower and stubborn determination, she managed to power through the agonizing pain in her muscles and the throbbing pain in the back of her head from start to finish, completing all given tasks within the 30 minute time limit, giving her another 15 minutes to double back to her room and change into more appropriate clothes for a sermon and find her way to the chapel. She managed that blitz with little trouble.

* * *

She was seated in one of the front pews by the Missionary herself, and within a few minutes, the chapel was bursting with activity, yet somehow had managed to remain just about as silent as before the crowd had arrived. This silence was soon pierced by the Missionary beginning her sermon, and so began the next two hours of Ruby being almost totally lost with only a vague idea of what they were even saying in the first place...

Eventually, the sermon ended, and they were all set on their way. Ruby couldn't say why, but she felt... lighter. As though she'd been alleviated of a burden that had been weighing on her shoulders, and her worries eased. Come to think of it, the Missionary was glowing a sort of golden light during the sermon, and that's when she felt the feeling set on her... perhaps...

 _"Nah, probably just the aftereffects of my earlier workouts. After all, it's not like I haven't felt like this before."_ She thought to herself, though couldn't shake the feeling that it might've been something else. Was it just the weightlifting, or was there more than just words that radiated from and about this 'Emperor' figure?

Shaking the thought off, she looked up with excited eyes as she realized that the time for learning about even more weapons had come upon her. Wide and sparkle-eyed at the prospect of wielding more weapons that far eclipsed anything ever conceived back home, she sped off at full speed towards the training area once more...

* * *

Her eyes widened in awe as she beheld the Inquisitor chop a thick block of steel clean in half with but a single swing from his power sword, the gleaming blade sparkling brightly as it cackled with small jolts of electricity over the blade. If she were to identify the design of the blade, she'd easily peg it as a longsword, though despite it easily being large enough to constitute as a two-handed weapon, she saw his power armor allowed him to utilize it with one hand effortlessly. Lowering the blade, he turned back towards Ruby, a look of satisfaction adorning his features.

"The power sword of an Inquisitor is almost always made of adamantine. The blade vibrates at an incredible rate, allowing it to easily rend through almost all materials with ease. On top of that, the field it emits disrupts things on the molecular level, unraveling heavy armor with ease while likewise protecting the blade against similar weapons." He said, before deactivating the blade and setting it on the table, before holding up an axe. "This is a power axe. Much like the power sword, it emits the same kind of power field. The biggest difference between different power weapons is the craft, and the type of weapon itself. A Power Axe will still function and have the same advantages and disadvantages it'd normally have, same with the power sword, the power fist, spear, you name it. I've seen you wield a scythe, but that's... well, I'm not saying you CAN'T have a power scythe, but... well... Given the Death Guard's fascination with Scythes, you might give other Inquisitors the wrong idea." He said, setting the axe back down before hefting up a large chainsaw-sword thing, immediately seizing Ruby's full attention. "This is a chainsword. Not as reliable against armor as a power sword, but even superficial hits to soft spots on an opponent leave a sort of shock on your target, and depending on the rotation of the blades, it can even pull your opponent into the strike. Bloody, devastating, most effective against enemies with softer armor, but it's use is limited against something like power armor."

Looking around a bit, Ruby picked up a smaller power sword, one more clearly meant for use without power armor, and raised the blade overhead. It was heavier than she'd expected, though given how previous weapon demonstrations had gone, she supposed she shouldn't be surprised. Looking to her target, she thumbed the activation rune, and gave a yell as she struck downward, cleanly slicing off a whole corner of the block. She smiled with satisfaction before deactivating the blade and setting it back on the table once more. Overall, while the technology behind these weapons was indeed incredible, it wasn't too much beyond enhancing normal melee weapons, not that she had anything against that, but compared to the guns, they just didn't seem so special.

"Not as amazed with these weapons as you were with the guns, are you? Ah well, I really can't say I was any different. The biggest exception to the rule would be the Thunder Hammer, but aside from a power field that allows it to have rather explosive impacts for devastating results, it's essentially just a big, explosive warhammer." he explained, then noticed her gaze was no longer on him. "Hey, Ruby, you there?"

"That blade in the case... what is it?" She said, pointing past him to a case with a glass top, the black blade within having naught the slightest mark nor reflection to mar the neigh perfect satin darkness of the blade and it's cross-guard. The hilt was wrapped in beautiful crimson leather, with the pommel being what must've been the most beautifully and intricately crafted eagle she'd ever seen. The general design of the blade was that of an arming sword, though with a slightly longer blade than others she'd seen...

"THAT..." Terminus hissed in disappointment with himself, face palming as he lamented. "That, is a weapon you weren't supposed to see yet."

"Umm... Why not? A blade is just a blade, isn't it? I mean, it's obviously more than just a blade, the user and the creator of a weapon has so much to do with-"

"That weapon wasn't forged by anyone. It's a daemon weapon." He said, finishing dragging his hand down his face. "My possession of it is one of several reasons why I'm considered a radical Inquisitor. It's a Dark Blade specifically, and within the blade is bound a VERY powerful Greater Daemon of Chaos Undivided." He explained, opening the case and resting a hand on the blade, feeling no dark energies.

"I-I've read a bit from what I could understand... i-i-it's really got a..." Ruby stammered, backing up slightly. The very concept of these Daemons was utterly horrifying to her, especially considering she utilized her soul as a shield to protect herself. For there to be beings that could devour her soul like it were popcorn truly terrified her, as it would anyone, but to an aura user, such a being was completely anathema to her. She wouldn't claim to know much, in fact, most of what she knew he'd told her himself, and even then, it was very barebones...

"This blade was the weapon of choice by my mentor before she died about a century ago, and the daemon inside is... strange." He explained, raising the blade. " _The Dark Blade of Dēmonsureiyā,_ or just _Dēmonsureiyā_ if you don't have the time to say the whole name. Ever since the death of my mentor, the blade has sat perfectly still, it's dark energies dormant and it's psychic echoes silent. And yet..." Placing a second hand on the blade, he pulled out a rag and wiped some dust off the blade. "When wielded by my late mentor, it's power was terrifying. All who bore witness to the blade feared it. I've wielded Daemon Weapons before, and they're... well... an unpleasant experience would be an understatement, my mentor would mirror this sentiment, yet with this blade..."

Nervously, Ruby inched closer and closer, tentatively looking upon the blade before leaning forward to get a better look.

"When my master wielded this blade specifically, she said it was unlike any other she'd ever held. She said that when holding the blade, it was almost as though a sort of clarity and cool sensation had set upon her. She said that while the blade hungered for the blood of the Imperium's enemies, it craved most the blood of traitors, and other daemons. Oddly enough, she said the blade had only ever urged her onto righteous actions in service of the Imperium, as though it could feel her purpose and acted in sync with her." That got her attention, and the girl, though still timid, approached the blade, her hand just barely hovering over it. "I was never able to use the blade. In my hands, it's just a very sharp black arming sword, so too in Aestas's hands, and so too in the hands of any one following my mentor's fall... come to think of it, it fell into this sort of dormancy whenever held by someone other than my mentor even when she was alive." He mused, before placing the blade back in it's case. "It's more of a keepsake than anything else now, but whatever daemon is bound within that blade, two things are certain. First, being it's apparent dedication to the service of the Imperium, and Second being just how picky it is with who it chooses." He finished, before taking his hands off the blade.

"So... the blade is... just some random sword that happens to be black, then? It's harmless if I touch it?" Ruby wondered aloud, looking up at Terminus for some sort of confirmation of some sort or another.

"Essentially. It's been a century since it picked anyone, and almost everyone important that has been aboard this ship has held the blade, with none chosen. I don't mean to sell you short, but I doubt it'll chose you, either, so..." He rambled for a few seconds, before shrugging and gesturing to the blade. "Go ahead, I guess. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, am I right?"

"That sounds EXTREMELY reckless." Ruby deadpanned, only getting a chuckle in response.

"Worst case scenario, I'm sure I can handle one fifteen year old brat with a Daemon sword, and the Librarian, Chaplain and Missionary can exorcise you if need be." He said confidently, chuckling the whole while while gesturing once more towards the blade.

Sighing, she supposed he was right, and so stepped forward, and let her hands linger just a few inches over the blade. She didn't know why, but she was shaking, almost as though she were afraid of what might happen. The blade lie dormant, yet for some reason... The blade felt... alive, somehow. Like it was calling to her, yet she felt no invasive presence as it'd been described. For a moment, she started to withdraw, contented on playing it cautious and not risking-

 **"Know No Fear, Acolyte."** A loud, booming voice echoed from behind her, and immediately seized her attention. Immediately, her jaw all but struck the floor as before her stood a massive figure in terminator armor, with the blue of the librarium taking up most of the armor. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, this was a Space Marine, and an incredibly powerful one too...

"B-but..."

 **"No 'But's. Knowledge is Power, Guard it Well. Should the Blade react to you, we stand something to learn from it. If Such is corrupt knowledge, we will all purify ourselves of the taint in battle."** The marine assured, giving Ruby a slight confidence boost.

Taking a deep breath, Ruby reached forward, and took the hilt of the blade in hand, hefting it up and resting the flat of the blade against the palm of her other hand. At first, she felt nothing... Then, as if in some sort of violent reaction, she felt a powerful, invasive presence wash over her as she fell to a knee, roaring in a combination of surprise and defiance, before everything went black...

* * *

 **A/N: Apologies for the long hiatus. Reworked this chapter like 20 times and it never felt right. That being said, I think this chapter turned out OK. Not my best work but, eh, what am I to do about it, right?**


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